The Unknown Destiny
by Lady Dawson
Summary: What if Dan had a daughter that he didn't know about? And what if Lucas, Nathan, and their sister had a destiny to fulfill? Crossover with Charmed. Complete.
1. The Other Scott

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter One: The Other Scott

Everyone in Tree Hill knew about the story of Dan Scott and his two sons, Nathan and Lucas. That Dan got his high school girlfriend pregnant with Lucas and then moved on to another girl, first semester of college, which pretty much led to Nathan. Eventually, the two boys let go of the rift and became inseparable friends and more than that, brothers.

But there was more to that story, one first kept secret, and then forgotten. For Karen Roe and Debra Lee were not the only women in Dan Scott's life. There was one other that he impregnated with a child. Her name was Elizabeth Dawson. And she knew the secret that Dan had kept from his other girlfriends in the beginning.

She knew that Dan was a witch, a descendant of Melinda Warren. For she was Dan's Whitelighter, a guardian angel for witches.

When the Elders—Elizabeth's bosses—discovered that she was pregnant by a witch, they clipped her wings and she was forced to return to Earth as a mortal. She knew the rules and had broken them, for witches and Whitelighters aren't allowed to fall in love.

Moving away from Tree Hill, Elizabeth raised her daughter Susan ignorant of the magical world, of her father's true identity, and of two half-brothers that she didn't know that she had. Even though Elizabeth knew that her witch-Whitelighter daughter would eventually have to meet them and assume her destiny one day as one of the legendary Charmed Ones, she wanted Susan to have a normal childhood, for as long as possible.

It never occurred to Elizabeth that the time for the Charmed Ones to be awakened was not too far near in the future. For during the summer that her daughter turned seventeen, there was an accident that took Elizabeth's life, leaving her daughter very much alone in the world. But upon her mother's death, Susan discovered more than just her father's identity. She found out about her brothers.

And there was only thing that she could think of to do. She left the life that she had always known behind as Susan Dawson and went to Tree Hill, about to embark on a journey that would test not only her skills, but her brothers as well. They were about to discover their true destiny . . . as the Charmed Ones.


	2. Susan

Summery: What if Karen and Deb weren't the only women in Dan Scott's life? What if there was another woman who Dan had been with? What if her relationship with Dan had resulted in a daughter that he didn't know about? And what if Lucas, Nathan, and their sister had a destiny to fulfill? (Crossover with Charmed)

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Two: Susan

Keith Scott kissed his fiancée on the forehead just as a young girl Lucas's age swept through the crowd. For some reason, she looked oddly familiar, like he'd seen her before. Her wavy dark brown hair fell around a determined face, alighting blue-green eyes. She wore a jean jacket atop of a light blue shirt, looking out of place at Tric. The girl couldn't be any older than seventeen.

Way too familiar, he thought wonderingly.

His mind was instantly drawn back to nearly eighteen years ago, when he and Dan had met their Whitelighter, Elizabeth Dawson. The girl's eyes were so much like Elizabeth's that he couldn't dismiss it as coincidence and the look of determination on her face . . . well, he had seen it all too often on his brother and nephews not to recognize it.

Snapped out of his thoughts as the girl headed up to the bar, Keith let go of Karen as she said, "Hi, can I have a bottle of water, please?"

"Sure," Karen said, unaware of Keith's astonishment at the girl. She went to get the girl's order and was back after only a few seconds. "Here you are. That'll be $2.25."

Pulling out three dollars out of a coin purse, the girl handed it to Karen. "Keep the change," she told her as she opened the bottle and took a drink. She glanced back at the stage as Fall Out Boy was playing. "It's a good band," she commented. "And a great cause. I'm surprised that more people didn't grab tickets when you first started this concert."

"How did you know that we didn't sell that many tickets when we put this together?" Karen asked, surprised. "Are you friends with Peyton?"

"She's the blonde one, right?" the girl asked and Karen nodded. "No, I've just seen her around. Figured there was only one reason that you put those posters up; that it wasn't getting much attention." She grinned.

"That was Brooke's idea," Karen said with a sigh.

The girl laughed, glancing back at the crowd, her eyes focusing on Brooke and Lucas. As she continued to stare at the back of Lucas's head, she frowned slightly.

"He's got a girlfriend, you know," Keith said and she turned her head back towards him, her eyebrows raised. "That's my nephew, Lucas. Brooke, the girl next to him, is his girlfriend."

Laughing, the girl shook her head. "Wait, you think that I—" she stopped, shaking her head. "No way. Tree Hill would blow a gasket with that kind of scandal. Honestly."

"Scandal?" Karen inquired, looking at the girl, but she didn't answer, returning her gaze to Lucas. "What do you mean? What did you say that your name was?"

When the girl looked back towards Karen and Keith again, she let out a sigh, pushing her hand through her long dark hair. "My name's Susan," she answered simply. "Susan . . . Dawson-Scott. My mother combined both her name with my father's name. She didn't want to give me solely my father's name."

"Scott?" Keith echoed in disbelief. It couldn't be . . . this girl simply couldn't be Elizabeth's daughter, by Dan, no less. He wouldn't steep so low as to sleep with his Whitelighter, would he? It was completely against the rules.

Susan smiled, nodding once. "Yeah, that's right," she said. "And if you're Keith Scott, then I'm your niece."

--

Lucas Scott opened the door to his house to find a seventeen-year-old girl sitting in the kitchen, her head in one hand, looking towards the living room, where he could hear his mom and Keith talking in worried voices.

"Who are you?" he demanded, staring at the girl.

She looked around at him in surprise; apparently she hadn't heard him come in, her attention had been focused entirely on the conversation in the other room and hadn't heard the door open.

"Susan Dawson-Scott," she answered, staring at him. Lucas felt shock ripple through him as she said that. Scott? "I'm your sister. Well, half-sister, technically. Dan's my father."

Realizing the his mouth was hanging open, Lucas shut it, closing the door behind him and sitting down in the kitchen opposite of Susan. "What are Mom and Keith arguing about?"

"Not arguing, discussing," she corrected, returning her attention to listening to the adults' conversation. "And they're talking about whether they should tell Dan about me or not. Something about 'doesn't deserve to know' and 'against the rules.' Any idea what that means?"

"Not a clue," Lucas answered, still watching her. She caught his gaze and smiled wryly. "So . . . you're really my sister? Keith didn't mention anything about Dan having another kid. Neither did Nathan, come to think about it." He rubbed his jaw, wincing, at the punch that the guy at the club had thrown at him.

"Gathering from the look on his face when I told him, I don't think that he knew," Susan replied matter-of-factly. "I don't think that my mom even told Dan that she was pregnant. Which, if I did the math correctly, was when your mom and Nathan's mom were pregnant, so . . ."

"When did your mom and Dan get together?" Lucas asked. "It couldn't have been for very long, because Dan married Deb as soon as their first semester of college ended and they moved back to Tree Hill."

"Summer before he started college," Susan answered, frowning. "Actually, it was pretty much a one night stand, I think. Mom never did talk about Dan very much, and from what I've gathered since I came to Tree Hill, I can hardly even blame her. He seems like a real jerk."

"Where is your mom?" Lucas asked. The realization was filling through Lucas . . . that this girl that was standing in front of him really was his sister, even if they shared their blood by half.

A miserable look crossed over Susan's face and Lucas was immediately sorry that he had even asked. "She's dead," she answered quietly. "Three months ago in a car accident." She had no sooner finished speaking than Karen and Keith came into the room, stopping once they saw Lucas sitting at the table with Susan.

"Lucas," Karen said the minute that she saw him. "I didn't think that you were getting back until later."

"Brooke had something that she needed to do with Peyton," Lucas answered, not missing the look that passed between . . . well, his parents, now, since Keith was adopting him.

Then Keith glanced towards Susan hesitantly, who shrugged. "Don't worry," she said simply. "He knows." Lucas glanced at his sister for a minute before returning his attention back to Karen and Keith. "What's going on?"

Keith sighed and pulled the chair out between Lucas and Susan, his dark eyes looking worried. "All right," he said finally, "there's something that we need to tell the two of you, something that affects not only you two but Nathan as well. And it's going to sound crazy, but you're going to have to try and understand it."

Lucas glanced at Susan, but the bewildered look on her face clearly said that she didn't have any idea of what was going on any more than he did. "Keith, you're freaking me out a little bit," he said finally. "What are you talking about?"

Taking a deep breath, Keith looked between his niece and nephew and said quietly, "You're witches."


	3. Their Birthright

**An Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Three: Their Birthright

Silence fell over the room and Susan looked between her uncle, her brother, and her brother's mother to figure out whether Keith was joking or not. This was insane, completely crazy . . . and yet . . . what if it was true?

"Keith, give me a clue as to whether you're kidding or not," Lucas finally said, the first one to speak since Keith had told them that they were witches.

"I'm not kidding," Keith said with a heavy sigh. "You got it from Dan and me. Both of us are witches too, got it from Mom. One of our ancestors was a witch named Melinda Warren. She practiced three powers; she could move things with her mind, freeze time, and see the future. Before Melinda was burned at the stake, she vowed that each generation of Warren witches would grow stronger and stronger, culminating into the arrival of three siblings.

"Now these siblings would share their blood by half, but they would be the most powerful witches that the world has ever known. They're good witches and I'm pretty sure that you are those siblings."

"This is crazy," Lucas protested, looking around at his mom and sister. "Isn't it? Mom?"

Karen only looked at her son and shook her head. "No, it's not," she said. "Dan told me about it back in high school, but I didn't believe him until you stared showing signs of powers. When you were a toddler, you could move things with your mind. A telekinesis, I suppose."

"What about you?" Keith asked, looking at Susan. "Did your mom ever mention you having any powers? Premonitions of freezing things?"

"No, but I . . ." Susan stopped talking, her mind returning to three months ago, in the car accident. "The accident . . ."

"What about the accident?" Karen asked gently. She and Keith were looking at her intensely.

"When the other car slammed into us, I saw white lights in front of my eyes," Susan said slowly. She had been so sure that it had been a dream. "Then it felt like I was floating or flying, I guess. When I reappeared in the car, we were on the side of the road, our car smashed into a pole. I got out without a scratch on me."

Keith nodded. "Yeah, it's called orbing," he told her. "Elizabeth—your mom—was a Whitelighter, a guardian angel for witches. She was Dan's—and my—Whitelighter and apparently they were together, but I didn't know anything about that. Both of them knew that it was against the rules. Whitelighters and witches aren't allowed to fall in love, let alone have children."

"So if my mom was a Whitelighter and my father was a witch," Susan said slowly, "what does that make me?"

"A witch-Whitelighter," Keith answered reluctantly. "Half-witch and half-Whitelighter. This means that you have one of the Warren traits as well. It's told that the Charmed Ones—the three of you—will each have one of Melinda's powers. Can you think of any time that you've seen something before it actually happened? Or made time freeze?"

Susan scrunched up her face, trying to remember, but she couldn't remember a single time that she had done either of those times. "No," she said, throwing up her hands in frustration. "I can't remember . . . ever . . ." She trailed off, gaping at Karen, who had frozen in mid-movement.

And not the way that somebody freezes when they are shocked or stunned; she was actually frozen in time. Susan clamped her hand over her mouth, scrambling out of her chair, her heart beating rapidly. "Oh, my god," she muttered.

"Easy, take a deep breath," Keith warned, getting out of his chair to calm her down. "Getting agitated isn't going to help anything; it'll only make it worse."

"You just froze my mom!" Lucas protested, gaping at her.

"I didn't mean to!" Susan protested, her distress getting the better of her. "I just threw up my hands and then she . . . didn't move . . ." She slowly shoved her hands into her pockets. "How come she's frozen and you two aren't?" she wanted to know, looking at Keith expectantly.

"Our powers don't work on good witches," Keith said soothingly. "Just try and calm down, maybe she'll unfreeze. Breathe," he instructed and Susan took a deep breath. "Now let it out."

Obeying her uncle, Susan slowly started to calm down and Karen unfroze, looking around at the group at large. "What happened?" she asked and Keith smiled ruefully at her. Susan bit her lip, trying to decide whether this was a good thing or bad. She had just froze time! Of all the things that she had expected when she had come to Tree Hill, becoming a witch wasn't one of them!

Then again, if what Keith said was true, she had been one all along, not just become one.

"Susan froze you," he explained. "This must mean that Nathan has premonitions, if Dan hasn't bound his powers," he added, looking worried. "Personally, I wouldn't put it past him. Especially if he found out that he was the father of the Charmed Ones."

"What is it about the Charmed Ones?" Lucas demanded, looking incredulously at his uncle. "I mean, why would Dan want to stop them from forming so badly? What do we have that nobody else does?"

Keith sighed. "The Power of Three," he answered. "The most powerful force of good in the world. And the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy."


	4. Siblings Three

**An Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Four: Siblings Three

Nathan Scott felt like he was flying—literally. It had been an almost perfect night; he and Haley had finally started to work on their issues and were back on the right track to making their marriage better; he and Lucas were on their way back to being brothers. Everything seemed so right, that usually in Tree Hill that was when something went so horribly wrong.

Almost on cue, Nathan felt a tug on his brain and images started to swirl through his mind. Lucas and a girl that he'd never seen before in his life but somehow seemed familiar being attacked by a . . . well, he couldn't think of any other word to describe it other than monster.

As fast as it had come, the vision, or whatever it was, was gone and Nathan found himself standing still on the street, almost a half a block to his house. He'd had these dreams before, sometimes when he was awake, other times when he was asleep. They came without warning . . . and sometimes Nathan couldn't decipher them until it was too late.

But that wasn't what scared him. It was that these dreams always had a way of coming true, though sometimes he could prevent the outcome.

The night that he'd moved back in with his mom—the day of the fire at the dealership—he'd had a vision that day that Haley was going to come back, and then she showed up there. And the day of Lucas and Keith's accident . . . he'd seen that a car had crashed, but hadn't seen who was in it. He'd felt so guilty about it when he learned that it was Lucas. His own brother . . .

Without waiting another second, Nathan took off down the street, away from his house and towards Lucas's. He didn't care if it sounded crazy; he didn't even care what Lucas might think if he went babbling on about a dream that he thought might come true. All he was thinking of was saving his brother and that girl.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket as he ran, Nathan started dialing Lucas's cell and waited for him to pick up. "Come on, Luke, pick up the phone," he muttered, trying to stay calm. "Come on, big brother."

--

"Really, it's no problem, Ms. Roe," Susan protested as Karen pulled some blankets out of a closet and a pillow. "I can just go back to the hotel and sleep there, come back in the morning."

Her brother's mother smiled at her ruefully. "Call me Karen," she told her. "And it might be a good idea for you to stay here, at least until the three of you—you, Lucas, and Nathan, I mean—know what you're up against. It's not going to do anybody any good if demons come after you and you get yourself killed."

Susan groaned. "And I was so looking forward to having brothers," she said with a sigh. Karen smiled just as the cell phone sitting on the table rang. "Whose phone is that?"

"Lucas's," Karen answered, nodding towards the porch, where Lucas and Keith were sitting on the steps, talking. "Why don't you go and take it out to your brother; I'll finish up here." Susan sighed, nodded, and headed out the door, picking up the cell as she did so.

Lucas and Keith stopped talking the moment that she opened the door. "Your cell's ringing, Lucas," she told him, handing it over.

"Thanks," Lucas said blandly, taking the cell phone from her. He glanced down at it and said, "Great; it's the third Charmed One." Susan couldn't help grinning as he answered. "Nathan? Whoa, Nate, slow down . . . what? Hey, your reception sucks . . . what do you mean, somebody's after us . . ."

Whatever Nathan said, it made Lucas look up towards Susan, who was still standing near the door. "What?" she asked as she caught his gaze.

Shaking his head at her, Lucas returned to his conversation with Nathan. "Dark haired girl?" he wanted to know. "Blue eyes, short height?"

"They're not blue, they're green," Susan grumbled and Keith chuckled. "And I'm not that short. I'm not!" she insisted as Lucas rolled his eyes at her.

"Okay, Nathan, where are you?" Lucas asked him and he nodded, frowning. "By Peyton's place . . . sure, no problem, we'll meet you at the River Court. Five minutes, ten tops." He shut his phone and said to Susan, "Come on, we got to go."

"Where are we going?" Susan asked, following him.

"Luke, what's going on?" Keith asked. His brown eyes were looking worried as Lucas turned around to face his uncle.

"Nathan had a premonition, I think," he explained. "He saw Susan and me getting attacked by a demon. At least, I think it was a demon, from what he described. So we need to get to Nathan."

"But Luke—"

"Keith, he's our brother," Susan said flatly, joining Lucas as he hurried down the porch steps and headed out into Tree Hill. "So, where are we going?" she wanted to know, trying to keep up with Lucas's long strides. "Luke, will you slow down a little bit?"

He slowed to a brisk walk. "Sorry," he apologized. "We're going to the River Court. Nathan's going to meet us there; he's completely freaked out by this. Honestly, I can't say that I blame him . . ." Running a hand through his blond hair, he looked towards Susan. "How could they keep something like this from me?"

"Maybe so you could have a normal childhood?" Susan suggested, rubbing her arms. She'd left her jean jacket back at Lucas's house. Now she wished that she had brought it with her.

Lucas, upon seeing this, slipped off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. "Thanks," she said, shrugging into it. "I mean, childhood is hard enough without the knowledge that there's a whole other world that we're a part of. They only probably told us about it now because now that the three of us are together, our powers—the Power of Three—is going to be unleashed."

"So long as you were away from Tree Hill, no one suspected that Nathan and I were two of the Charmed Ones," Lucas said, repeating Keith's words. "But now that we're together, it won't take the demons long to figure out who we are."

Susan giggled slightly, but her smile faded as they headed into the River Court and she saw a tall, dark haired figure running towards them. All at once, she knew exactly who this person was; her younger brother, Nathan, whose mother had married their father.

"Hey," Nathan said once he managed to catch up with them. "Are you two all right? 'Cause I saw—"

"Hey, Nate, slow down, okay, we're all right," Lucas assured him, herding Nathan over to one of the benches. "Now, maybe you can explain what happened and why you're so freaked."

Nathan sighed. "It's a long story, Luke," he muttered, not looking at Lucas or Susan. "And something tells me that you wouldn't even believe me if I told you. Because even I think it sounds crazy."

Susan smiled ruefully. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time today," she said cheerfully, placing a gentle hand on Nathan's shoulder, to which he glanced at sharply.

"Girl," he said, shaking his head at her. "I'm married." He held up his left hand, where he had reluctantly returned his wedding ring recently.

Glaring at Lucas, who had started laughing, she retorted, "Dude, I'm too close in bloodlines." That caused Lucas to start laughing even harder and Nathan stared at her, then at Lucas.

"Okay," he said slowly, "who are you?"

"Nate," Lucas said once he got control over his laughter. His eyes were still glistening with mirth. "She's our sister, Susan. Well, half-sister, technically. But we share the same father as her. She's Dan's daughter."

Staring at him and then Susan, Nathan started to grin. "Well," he said with amusement in his own eyes. "I guess that Dan didn't have to adopt one after all. Last year, before you joined the team, Dan said something about if he wanted a daughter, he would've adopted one."

"What, so he could abandon her too?" Susan grumbled, making Nathan start to laugh. "Okay, that wasn't exactly meant to be funny."

"Yeah, but that's exactly what I said," Nathan replied, still grinning. Then he suddenly turned sober. "All right, about what I said earlier, about that vision or whatever it was—"

Lucas stopped him. "Look, Nathan, we already know about that," he said. "Mom and Keith explained it. You had a premonition, didn't you?" Nathan hesitated and then nodded. "Well, it kind of runs in the family. Apparently, basketball isn't the only thing that we inherited from Dan." He exchanged a look at Susan; it was clear that he didn't know how to proceed.

"We're witches, according to Keith," Susan said with a sigh. "You, Lucas, and me. We have powers. Luke can move things with his mind, I can freeze time, and you can see the future."

"So what I see—these visions or premonitions—are true? They're not just stuff that I make up that sometimes happens?" Nathan said slowly. "Then this monster—"

"Demon," Susan supplied and Nathan nodded.

"Right, demon," he corrected himself, "is actually going to attack. Which means that—"

"There you are, witches!" a voice snarled and Susan whirled around, shocked to see a demon appear out of nowhere behind them.

"He's here!" Nathan yelled as the demon started to attack.


	5. First Battle

**An Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Five: First Battle

Nathan scrambled away from the bench, his hands curling into fists as he stared at the . . . what had Susan called it, a demon? "What do you want?" he demanded as Susan and Lucas joined him.

The demon merely laughed, conjuring a fireball in his hands. "What do you think I want, witch?" he taunted as he threw it at them. Susan's scream rang in Nathan's ears, making him wince. "Your powers. Have to say, though, if you three are the all-powerful Charmed Ones, then your ancestor didn't do a very good job of handing down a legacy to you."

"What's he talking about?" Nathan asked through gritted teeth, glancing edgily towards his brother and newfound sister. "Who are the Charmed Ones?"

"Us," Susan muttered back, "according to Uncle Keith. We're supposed to be the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy and have a power called the Power of Three." Her blue-green eyes were on the borderline of panic as she looked around at Lucas. "What are we going to do?"

"Whatever we're going to do, we'd better think of something fast," Lucas retorted, glancing towards the now burnt basketball goal. "Let's just stick together, it's our best hope."

Susan took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, when the wind blew softly through and she heard a soft female voice say quietly, "The Power of Three will set you free." She froze, and glanced towards her brothers. From the looks on their faces, they too had heard the woman's voice.

"Mom?" she breathed, barely able to believe it. Was it possible? Her mother had been dead for three months . . . how could she be hearing her voice now?

"The Power of Three will set us free," Lucas said suddenly. Susan looked at him, surprised, and then got his meaning immediately. "Come on; let's say it together, like a spell. What have we got to lose?"

"Only our lives," Nathan said grimly, but nevertheless started to chant with Lucas and Susan.

"The Power of Three will set us free!" the siblings shouted together. Susan was clinging to each of her brothers' hands, praying against all hope that this was going to work. "The Power of Three will set us free! The Power of Three will set us free!"

"Stop!" the demon shouted, but Susan just kept saying the phrase with her brothers. "You can't defeat me! I am just one of hundreds who will come after you, time after time again! The Charmed Ones can't hope to defeat us all!"

"The Power of Three will set us free!"

The demon let out a scream of terror as he was engulfed in fire and Susan squinted her eyes against the harsh light and then blinked as it vanished, the demon along with it. All that was left was a scorch mark on the River Court, burnt ever blacker than the blacktop.

Staring at it, Susan looked edgily towards her brothers'. Lucas's eyes were full of surprise; Nathan's full of satisfaction. "The Power of Three," Lucas finally whispered and Susan managed a weak chuckle. Nathan grinned ruefully. "Well, I guess this is the end of a nice, normal life."

"Since when has life in Tree Hill ever been normal?" Nathan asked with a grin, shaking his head. "This is one town that's got more drama then a soap opera."

"More than Soap Net," Susan volunteered. From everything she had seen from Tree Hill since she came here, it had more drama than the entire world rolled into one. "Besides, being normal is vastly overrated, Mom used to say."

Lucas glanced around suddenly, frowning slightly. "Do you really think that that was her, Sue?" he wanted to know.

Susan blinked; nobody had called her Sue in the longest time. "You don't mind being called that, do you?"

Susan shook her head. "No, actually, I don't," she answered. "It's just Susie that I have a problem with. And I don't know, it sounded like Mom. I know that it was definitely her voice that I heard. But how could somebody that is dead being talking to me—to us?"

"After everything that we just witnessed, this is what surprises you?" Nathan replied with a laugh. Susan smiled, shaking her head.

--

"There they are, Keith!" Karen called, spotting Lucas and Susan heading back towards the house, looking worse for the wear. And was that Nathan with them?

Keith had barely opened the door when the three siblings came in. It was clear from the looks on their faces, that they had just had their first encounter with the supernatural world. For a moment, nobody spoke and then Keith said finally, "So you're all okay?"

"Are we okay?" Nathan said lightly. "We just found out that we're witches, we killed a demon . . . I don't think that we're even in the vicinity of okay."

"But," Susan said with a light glare at her younger brother, "I think that we're going to be okay. There's got to be worst activities that we could be doing besides killing demons and protecting the innocent."

"Vanquish," Keith corrected. Susan shook her head, confused. "You don't kill a demon, you vanquish it. If you guys are going to do this, then you've got to get the wording right."

"What do you mean, if we're going to do this?" Lucas wanted to know. "We don't really have a choice, Keith, do we? It's our fate, destiny, or whatever you want to call it."

"Actually, you do," Keith admitted. "I could bind your powers with a potion if you wanted me to. But I think that you really need to think this through first, before you make any decisions. I'm not Dan; I'm not going to force you to do something that you don't want to do."

Nathan smiled. "And I appreciate that, Keith," he told him, "I really do, but I don't think that there's much to think about, is there?" He looked around towards his siblings.

"Nope," Susan agreed. "I came here to find my family and hope that they would bring me into it. And they did, in a way. Just more ways than I expected. But that isn't a bad thing. Actually, it's a really good thing. Becoming witches might be the one thing that will bind us together as actual siblings."

Keith smiled halfway at her, not surprised by her answer. "Luke?" he asked, glancing towards his elder nephew.

"Well, we really wouldn't be Scotts if we just gave up now, would we?" Lucas replied. "Susan's right; this might actually bring us together as a family. But what are we going to do when we're in college? We'll be in different places; how are we going to use the Power of Three when we're separated?"

Susan sighed and slipped an arm around Lucas's. "Let's not worry about that right now," she told him. "Might as well just burn that bridge when we come to it." She met four pairs of surprised eyes. "Sorry, Mom used to say that. Speaking of, Keith, I think that we might have heard Mom talking to us out on the River Court tonight. How could we have heard her voice?"

"I don't know," Keith admitted. "She might have been reinstated as a Whitelighter for all we know. Truth be known, she was one of the best Whitelighters Up There, even if she did break the rules."

Glaring at him, Susan retorted, "I really wish that you would stop saying that it broke the rules."

Holding up his hands, Keith said, "All right, sorry. Okay, I think that we all need to get some sleep. It's been a long night and we all need to get some sleep."

"Yeah, I should get back home," Nathan said, starting to head out the door. "Luke, Sue, I'll see you guys at school tomorrow." Before he headed out the door, Karen stopped him.

"Nathan, why don't you stay here," Karen said gently. "We've got plenty of room and besides it's too late to be going anywhere, anyway."

"Yeah, man, stay the night," Lucas persuaded. "When was the last time that you had a home cooked breakfast?"

"Last time I stayed over at Haley's," Nathan answered with a grin.

Susan shook her head. "Sorry you asked?" she inquired as she looked towards Lucas. "Who is Haley, anyway? Your girlfriend?"

"Wife," Nathan reminded her, holding up the ring. It still brought a smile when he remembered her bloodlines crack.

"Right, wife," Susan muttered. "How is possible for you to be married? Aren't you seventeen?"

"Almost eighteen," Nathan said, "and I'm emancipated. I still live at Dan's house, but the judge declared me emancipated last year, before I married Haley."

"And you figured that marrying Haley would be the best way to get on the wrong side of Dan?" Susan suggested, a glint of humor in her eyes.

"Yeah, pretty much," Nathan said with a laugh. "All right, I'll stay. But I'll need to go there in the morning and grab my stuff. Plus we need to get dressed up tomorrow. Game day," he reminded Lucas.

"Right," Lucas said with a sigh.

Nathan suddenly had an uneasy feeling as they started to get another bed ready for him. Somehow, he had the feeling that things were just about to go horribly wrong, for all of them.


	6. Daddy Dearest

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Six: Daddy Dearest

Dan Scott drove up to the River Court, spotting the scorch mark on the pavement from where he parked. Climbing out, he walked over to it, frowning slightly as he placed his hands over it firmly, keeping a close watch to make sure that nobody was watching.

Almost immediately, he was pulled into a premonition. A demon attacking Lucas, Nathan, and an unfamiliar girl. They were all chanting something inaudible, but whatever it was, it vanquished the demon.

Pulled back into the present, Dan got to his foot shakily. All at once, he knew exactly who that girl was. There was no one else it could be, because that demon could only be vanquished by the Power of Three, which meant that the Charmed Ones had been formed. Which meant that that girl in his premonition was his daughter, the only sister of the three siblings.

Muttering a swearword, Dan turned around, heading back to his car. This wasn't good, he thought in panic. Not only were the Charmed Ones formed, but the sister was half-Whitelighter; she had to be Elizabeth's daughter, who had been a Whitelighter.

_This could ruin everything, _Dan thought, climbing into his car and driving away from the River Court. _Everything. _

--

Lucas glanced up from pulling a jacket on as Nathan came into his room, looking a little lost. "Forget where you are for a minute, little brother?" he asked, tossing Nathan a sweatshirt jacket. "Here, you can borrow that. You don't want to go to school in the same clothes, do you?"

Nathan chuckled, but shook his head as he got into some clean clothes. "So, last night . . ." he began, looking at Lucas. "That wasn't a dream, was it, Lucas? We really did fight a . . ."

"Demon," Lucas supplied.

"Right, that," Nathan said, then looked worried. "Man, I hope that this doesn't mean we have to quit basketball."

"I think that you can still play basketball and be a witch, Nathan," an amused voice said from the doorway.

"Susan!" Lucas exclaimed, even though he and Nathan were pretty much dressed. "Do you mind?"

"You two are worse than a couple of girls," Susan informed them, tossing Nathan his shoes. "You left those by the couch. By the way, did you know that you were talking in your sleep last night? And snoring."

"Okay, now that is impossible," Nathan argued. "How can a person talk in their sleep and snore at the same time? You can't do both, either one or the other."

Holding up a recording tape, Susan said lightly, "You really want me to answer that question?" She was grinning and Nathan lunged at her to grab the tape, but she tossed it to Lucas, who held it out of Nathan's reach when he tried to grab it.

"No fair," Nathan pouted.

"Hurry up, will you?" Susan said, her blue-green eyes still twinkling with amusement. "I have to get to school and get my schedule and stuff. Hopefully my last school sent my transcripts. We're already late. Besides, didn't you say that you wanted to meet Haley this morning?"

"Oh, yeah," Nathan said, remembering. "I'll see you guys later, all right?" Without waiting for an answer, he dived out the door, calling goodbyes to Karen and Keith.

Susan looked at Lucas. "Is he always like that?" she wanted to know and Lucas only grinned. "Great. Well, I have to go to the hotel and grab my stuff before school, so I'd better head out of here, too."

"Why don't you wait around and I'll give you a ride," Lucas told her. "I'm just about done, anyway."

--

_"Three siblings who share half blood,_

_Joined together they form a bond,_

_Decades of the Warren blood,_

_Prophecy of the Charmed Ones._"

"How could you have allowed this to happen?" Dan snapped at the demon that he had ordered to kill Elizabeth and his daughter. "You told me that you got rid of Elizabeth and her daughter! How could she possibly be alive?"

The demon flinched slightly at the witch, but said nervously, "We ran the car into another car and Ms. Dawson was killed there, but how were we supposed to know that the girl was going to orb out of the car? It was impossible to kill her afterwards without it looking suspicious."

"But now she has found her brothers and your incompetence has endangered the entire Underworld!" Dan shouted. "What do you think your master would say, if he found out that you had allowed a Charmed One to escape when you had her directly in your palm?"

"Then it would be better to die at your hand than at his," the demon answered honestly. "What would you have me do, Mr. Scott? Kill her now, when she has the protection of your brother and hers?"

Dan let out a groan of frustration. Now that the Charmed Ones had been formed and under the protection of Keith, there was no way that they could catch her off guard. Before had been the perfect opportunity to attack her. She had been ignorant of her destiny.

"No," he finally said. "It's too risky. We can't risk exposing the demonic world. But I want you keep an eye on her and her brothers, day and night. Send the chameleon demons after her if you have to. Find out her weakness and attack that. I can't risk them finding out that I was behind her mother's death."

"Are you sure that you want to have her blood on your hands, sir?" the demon asked. "She is, after all, still your daughter."

"One down ends the threat," Dan said dismissively. "And she is a basic stranger to me. I wasn't even aware of her existence until recently. Besides, haven't I told you not to question my orders?"

"Understood, sir," the demon said with a bow and shimmered out. Dan picked up a glass and sipped from it, his thoughts still on the premonition that he'd had.

The three had worked together; probably only ten minutes of knowing that they were siblings and they had worked together as efficiently as though they had known for years. They had vanquished a warlock without ever having gone up against one before. Perhaps their bond was even stronger than he had first realised.

"I should have bound their powers when I'd had the chance," Dan grumbled. The thought had occurred to him, when Nathan was a boy, but he had dismissed it, never thinking that a third child was out roaming about in the world.

Deb had voiced concerns, time after time, when Nathan would wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares. Each time, he insisted that the nightmares were going to happen. Eventually, she had found out the truth, but never spoke of it to Nathan, hoping to spare him the heartache that had made her husband so bitter. Even Karen had known of Lucas and Nathan's heritage, but hadn't believed it until Lucas started showing signs of powers.

What had happened to him, to make it come to this? He was working for the Underworld, using his powers to punish the guilty, and was now plotting to kill his only daughter?

"What do you think could happen between two brothers to make them such bitter enemies?" he had asked Keith.

"You?" Keith had suggested.

He was right; Keith was almost always right. Even though he had destroyed the evidence that would show a jury that Keith was responsible for the attempted murder of Dan, he wasn't going to give up until his brother had felt ever ounce of the pain that he'd felt in the fire. Destroying the Charmed Ones just might do that. Destroying Keith's only niece might do that, with Keith living to know that he could have saved her.

**Author's Note: the Prophecy is by ****FastFuriousChick**


	7. Telling Haley and Brooke

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Seven: Telling Haley and Brooke

"Haley!" Nathan called, spotting his wife as she was about to enter the school. Turning around, she waited for him to catch up. "I thought that I was going miss you before you hit the tutoring centre."

"Well, you got lucky," Haley said with a laugh. "So where were you last night? I tried calling your house and your cell and you didn't pick up . . ."

"Yeah . . ." Nathan said, wondering what he was going to tell her. "I, uh, spent the night at Lucas's and left my cell off."

"You spent the night at Lucas's?" Haley asked, surprised. When Nathan nodded, she grinned. "That's great! So you guys are starting to work on whatever it was that tore you guys apart from being brothers?"

"Starting to," Nathan agreed. "Speaking of which, I have to tell you something." Haley waited expectedly and he went on, "Remember how I said that this family couldn't get any more messed up? I was wrong." Looking at her, Nathan said in a surprisingly calm voice, "Lucas and I have a sister."

Haley's mouth dropped open. "A sister?" she repeated in shock. "But--how--I mean, I know how, but . . . Dan has a daughter?"

"Looks like," Nathan answered. "She's the same age as us, too. Younger than Lucas, older than me." His mind was still reeling from the fact that there had been another woman before his mom, who had been, in fact, a guardian angel for his dad and Keith.

"She's going to have her hands full, being the middle sibling between you guys," Haley said, shaking her head. At Nathan's questioning look, she explained, "It's just a siblings thing, Nathan. The middle sibling is always the peacemaker, the one who has to keep the balance between the family. So, what's she like?"

"I don't know," Nathan said slowly. "She's . . . different. But in a good way. Can joke around a bit, but doesn't do it too much, I suppose. And she hides her past really well. Plus, she doesn't obsess over stuff, like Dan does."

"That's always a plus," Haley said with a grin. "So, have you met her mom? What's she like?"

Nathan shook her head. "That's what I meant by hiding her past really well, Hales," he said quietly. "Her mom's dead. Killed in a car accident about six months ago. That's how she found us. After her mom died, she tracked down her birth father--Dan--and through him, tracked down me and Lucas."

"Sounds like she really wanted to have a family," Haley mused as they walked through the school. "Is she living on her own or staying with Lucas--"

"I'm not really sure what her living situation is," Nathan admitted. "She stayed at Lucas's last night, but she said something about a hotel, which makes me think that she hasn't been here long enough to find a place to live at."

Haley nodded, then something flickered in her brown eyes. "Hey, Mrs. Ginelli is going to moving out of her apartment," she said suddenly. "You remember her, down in apartment seven?" When Nathan nodded, she went on, "And the rent's not too bad, so maybe she could rent that apartment."

"Not a bad idea," Nathan admitted. "I'll tell her about it when I see her. She might be looking for something like an apartment."

Grinning at him, Haley said, "Well, I have to get to the tutoring centre. I'll see you later." Kissing him tenderly, she hurried off, waving goodbye to him.

--

Lucas pulled into an empty spot just as Susan spotted a dark haired girl walking towards them, her dark eyes alighting as she looked at Susan's brother. She recognised the girl from the club the previous night. "Hey, Brooke," Lucas said as they climbed out.

"Hey, Broody," she said, kissing him on the lips. When they pulled apart, she noticed Susan standing uncomfortably by them and she frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Susan, this is my girlfriend, Brooke Davis," Lucas said. "Brooke, this is my long lost sister, Susan Dawson-Scott."

"Hi," Susan said, smiling at Brooke. She held her hand out and Brooke shook it after a minute, shock radiating from her eyes. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too," Brooke said, looking towards Lucas. Sensing that they needed some alone time, Susan looked at her brother.

"Well, I need to go see the office, see if they actually got my records," she said hastily. "So the office would be where?"

Lucas grinned, shaking his head. "Go in those doors, take a right, first door on your left," he told her. She nodded and started to walk off, waving a goodbye to Brooke and Lucas. When his sister was gone, Lucas looked towards Brooke, who opened her mouth to say something. "I just found out about her last night," he said hastily.

"That's not what I was going to say," Brooke said, glaring at him. Then her expression softened. "What I was going to say was she seems nice. A little strange, but nice."

"She's had a hard time lately," Lucas explained as they started to walk towards the building. "Not to mention she's going to have the entire town talking about her when they find out that she's the long lost Scott sibling."

"Does Dan know about her?" Brooke asked.

"Not that I know of, but who knows what Dan hides, anyway?" Lucas said with a sigh.

Brooke laughed. "True," she admitted. "He could be an agent for the powers of darkness for all we know."

Although he managed to laugh at her joke, Lucas's heart hammered in his chest. It couldn't be, could it? Could Dan have sent the demon after them last night? Well, he thought, remembering when Dan had tried to choke him to death, it wouldn't be the first time he's tried to kill one of us.

--


	8. Welcome to Tree Hill High

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Eight: Welcome to Tree Hill High

When Susan finished filling out the papers that the secretary had given her, she walked into the principal's office to see if he was ready to speak with Susan. Waiting patiently, Susan glanced up as she saw a young man her age step into the office.

"Hey," he said, noticing her. "I've never seen you around here before. What's your name?"

"Susan," she answered, feeling a little bit shy. "Susan Dawson-Scott. I'm Lucas and Nathan Scott's long lost sister," she added, seeing his surprised look. "We just found out last night."

"Nice," he said with a nod. He was really good looking, Susan noted, nearly as tall as Lucas was, with brown hair that fell into his alert face, alighting his intense brown eyes. "I'm Shawn. Shawn McCade." He smiled at her; a nice smile, she thought. "Welcome to Tree Hill High."

"Mr. McCade, don't you think that you should be getting to class?" an exasperated voice said. The secretary had returned, scowling at the new arrival in the office. "Miss Scott, the principal will see you now."

"Act casual," Shawn advised her as she got up, slipping her bag onto her shoulder. She smiled at him before heading into the principal's office. "Maybe I'll see you later."

"Maybe," she agreed, privately thinking that she would like to see him again. He seemed really nice and was one of the first boys that she'd ever met that made her feel so . . . exhilarated was the best word she could think of. "Maybe you will."

Closing the door behind her, she took a seat in front of Principal Turner's office. "Well, Miss Scott, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said as he shook her hand. "Fortunately, your last school was able to send us your records immediately, so we'll be able to get you into school straight away."

"Okay, well, that's good," she said.

"But I was kind of curious about your home living," he added, glancing down at the form the secretary had made her fill out. "You currently don't have a living address and your mother has passed away?"

Susan nodded, the memory of the previous night still on her mind. "Yes, in a car accident, sir," she answered. "And I haven't been here long enough to find a place to live. As soon as I do, I'll get the address straight in."

"Don't you have any family that you could live with?" Turner asked, glancing back down at her form. "Aunts, uncles, cousins? And what about your father?"

"Well, that's partly of why I came out here, sir," she explained. "I came to find my father, Dan Scott, and found out about my two half-brothers that I never knew that I had. I might be able to stay with Lucas or Nathan, but I'd rather just find my own place. Not that I have anything against them or I don't want to get to know them, it's just that I've been on my own for so long . . ."

"Hmm." Turner only looked at her and nodded once. "What about your mother's family?"

Feeling wary, Susan wondered what she could say. Her mother had been a guardian angel before she became mortal again. From what Keith had told her about Elizabeth, her mother had been killed almost a century beforehand, during World War I.

"My maternal grandparents died a long time ago, before I was born," she said as truthfully as she could. At least, it was as close to the truth as she was going to get. What else could she say, really? "And I don't know if my mom had any other relatives."

Nodding once, Mr. Turner around to look at something on the computer behind him. "All right," he said. "Well, we'll just get you a schedule together and then send you on your way. What classes were you taking at your old school, Miss Scott?"

"Dawson-Scott," she corrected automatically. "And I was taking English, Algebra, European History, Gym, Applied Bio-Chemistry, a computer class, and Home Etc."

The principal nodded and began clicking into the computer. "Do you think that you could fit me into some classes with my brothers?" she wanted to know. "Not all of them," she added hastily, "just a few."

"Well, let's see here," Turner said, frowning as he typed something into the computer. "I think we can manage to get you into Algebra and a computer class with Nathan and English and History with Lucas. And then we can get you into your sister-in-law's gym class. Will that be all right?"

Susan grinned. "That'd be great," she said, thrilled.

--

Three hours later, she wasn't so thrilled. By the time that third period had rolled around, whispers followed her around wherever she went, all of them talking about the exact same thing: her being Lucas and Nathan's long lost sister.  
"Can you actually believe it? I mean, it was bad enough that their dad abandoned one kid, but two?"

"She might even be lying. Who knows what she's really up to? I mean, a girl just appearing out of nowhere, claiming to be Dan Scott's long lost daughter? Give me a break."

"So how long do you reckon they're going to talk about this?" Susan asked as she ate lunch with her brothers, Brooke, and her sister-in-law Haley James-Scott.

"You kidding?" Nathan raised an eyebrow. "It's Tree Hill. Most likely, it'll be by the time you're married and have two grown kids before they move on to the next generation's scandals."

"Nathan!" Haley scolded, giving her husband a warning look. "Like she needs to hear that during her first week."

Susan sighed. "It's all right, Haley," she said wryly. "I'd rather have an honest little brother than one that spreads rumours about me at school and hides my CD's."

Even Brooke laughed at that one.

"Oh, the comedy stylings of Susan Dawson-Scott," Nathan said, rolling his eyes as he tossed a fry at her. Susan responded by throwing it right back at him.

Suddenly, Nathan glanced behind Susan, spotting someone out of her eyesight. "Hey, Shawn," he said with a grin, nodding to the person behind her. Susan turned around to see her acquaintance from earlier that week walking behind them. "Susan, this is Shawn McCade, he plays with us on the basketball team."

Susan only smiled at her little brother. "We've already had the pleasure of meeting, Nathan," she replied. "Hello again."

"Hey," Shawn answered with a smile. "How's Tree Hill been treating you? From what I've heard around school," he added with a laugh, "it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better." He was grinning at her and Susan couldn't help but smile back.

"So I guess it's like a cold, then," she said.

"Hey, McCade!" a voice called and Shawn glanced towards the guy who was calling him.

"Well, I got to go," he said. "See at practice, guys. Susan, pleasure to see you again."

When he was gone, Susan turned back around to see all four of them smirking. "What?" she demanded.

"What is with the Scott family?" Brooke said with a laugh. "Either they play basketball or they're into guys who play it." Susan coloured deeply and she suddenly stared down at her fingers as though they were extremely interested. "But you made a good choice. He's not dating anyone, married, or hung over someone."

Nathan snorted, then looked at Susan. "Do we need to give you the safe sex talk?" he said wickedly.

"I don't think that you're the best one to be giving me that talk, Nate," Susan pointed out. Brooke laughed and she added, "Considering that I'm supposed to be the older sister, it should be me who gives you that talk, not the other way around."

Rolling his eyes, Nathan swatted his sister, but the minute that he touched her, his mind was pulled into a premonition. He saw Susan freezing a demon, but a knife was coming at her from another direction, obviously from another demon. Shawn suddenly pushed her out of the way, only to get hit by the knife himself.

And then it was over. "Nathan?" Susan asked, looking worriedly at him. "Nathan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Nathan said, shaking his head. He couldn't tell her; not here, in front of Brooke and Haley. They still hadn't decided whether to tell the girls or not. "I'll tell you later."

Susan looked sceptical, but nodded as the bell rang. "And here we go again," she said with a sigh.

Watching his sister leave, Nathan nodded warily. "Definitely later," he muttered. Were they about to be responsible for the death of an innocent because of their fate? And more importantly, one Susan really liked?


	9. The Book of Shadows

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Nine: _The Book of Shadows_

"So Haley's going to reserve that apartment for you if you want it, Sue," Nathan added.

"Sure, that would be great," Susan answered. "The last thing for me to do is get a job to pay for it and everything would be . . . well, as normal as this family is going to get." Nathan smiled and Susan looked at her brother. "Okay, so what was really wrong during lunch today?" she asked.

They were hanging out at Nathan's house, waiting for Lucas. After school, Nathan had asked them to come over so he could explain about the vision.

"I'll explain once Lucas gets here," he told her. "I don't want to have to explain this half a dozen times, so let's just wait for him to get here."

"No need to wait, little brother," Lucas said, coming into the living room. "I'm here." He was carrying some bags and he set them on the table. "Had to go get something from Mom's café," he explained to Susan's questioning look. "Don't know if what Nathan's got here is safe to eat."

Nathan would have retorted if he hadn't been so worried about the premonition that he'd had. Something that Lucas immediately noticed. "All right, this isn't good," he said, taking a seat. "So spill. What happened, Nathan?"

"I had a premonition during lunch," he explained miserably. He was about to continue about what exactly the premonition had been about, but Lucas interrupted him, looking uneasily between both his sister and his brother.

"Premonition?" he repeated, shooting daggers at Susan for some reason. "Nathan, please don't tell me that you used your powers. I thought that we had agreed to use our powers only when we had to."

"Why are looking at me?" Susan said indignantly. "I didn't freeze anybody, Luke. Don't try and put me in the middle of this!"

"I'm not, Susan," Lucas said with exasperation. "You were born in the middle." (AN: I know this was a quote from Charmed, but I loved that line so I decided to use it.)

"Hey!" Nathan shouted, trying to get their attention. Lucas jumped and looked around at Nathan, startled. "Sorry, but back to my premonition. I saw Susan getting attacked by demons. Two of them, from what I saw, but there could have been more."

"Did you get a good look at them?" Lucas asked.

"No, but that's not what bothers me, Luke," Nathan said quietly. He looked at his sister edgily. "In my premonition, Susan froze one of them, but the other one--who wasn't in my vision--threw a knife at her and Shawn McCade got in front of her. He took the attack for her."

Silence fell over the room and Susan felt sick, feeling the blood drain from her face dramatically. "He's going to die trying to save me?" she whispered, her breath catching in her throat.

Nathan looked at her sympathetically. "I don't know," he admitted. "I didn't see that, one way or another. Not to mention that I don't know how far ahead in the future this vision is, so . . . for all we know, it could be years before this happens."

Lucas shook his head. "Nathan, you only get visions from at most a couple of days," he reminded him.

"Maybe my powers are expanding, though," Nathan shot back. "Keith said that our powers would expand eventually."

"Enough!" Susan barked, breaking up the fight starting to brew. "Yes, our powers will expand, Nathan, but not all at once. This premonition is probably going to be sometime in the near future. I'm not saying that you won't be able to see things years ahead of their time, Nate, but just not yet. So what should we do?"

"Try and find some answers, I guess," Nathan said with a sigh. "Didn't Uncle Keith say that there was some witch stuff somewhere around here?"

"Up in the attic," Lucas answered, getting to his feet. "Where is that at, anyway? I don't remember ever finding an attic here . . ."

"That's because it was locked," Nathan said, leading them up two flights of stairs until they reached a wooden door at the very top. "Dan's had it locked ever since I can remember. Guess he didn't want any of us finding out about all of this. As far as I know, there's not a key."

Susan frowned slightly as her brothers started to bicker about how to get the door opened and thought back to the night of the accident. Trying to focus on that feeling that she'd had when she had orbed out of the car, Susan felt as though she were flying and saw white lights in front of her eyes.

And then it was gone, along with her brothers and the tiny hallway. Now she was in a room filled with witch stuff and she could hear her brothers outside of the room. Susan grinned. _Cool, I orbed on command, _she thought delightedly as she unlocked the door from the inside and watched as Lucas and Nathan continued to talk about getting the door opened.

"Uh, guys?" she said, trying to get in between words, but they were talking too loud to hear her. "GUYS!"

"What?" Nathan demanded, turning to look at her. When he saw her standing in the open doorway, his jaw dropped. "Hey, how . . .?"

"I orbed in," she explained with a shrug, moving aside for them to pass. "Actually, maybe our powers are expanding, Nate. I've never been able to orb in someplace on purpose before. It was always on reflex before."

Lucas looked around the room. "And I thought this family couldn't get any more messed up," he commented, opening a trunk that was sitting by the window.

Pushing aside some blankets covering up some books, he pulled out a green leather bound book that looked as though it were several hundred years old. The symbol of s circle containing three interlocking oval shapes was embossed on the front.

"What is that?" Nathan asked, looking around at his brother. He had been over by some cabinets, going through the potion ingredients. Setting down the jar marked "rosemary," he walked over to Lucas as he opened the book.

"_The Book of Shadows_," he read the title from the inside page. Susan frowned as she joined her brothers. "Must be a book on witchcraft or something."

"Yeah, but a Book of Shadows is like a witch's cookbook," Susan explained matter-of-factly. "Witches, uh, write their spells, potions, etc in them. I guess that the person who started this Book of Shadows was the beginning of our family line, the one who gave us our powers, our destiny."

"Melinda Warren," Nathan said and Susan nodded. "How do you know so much about this, anyway? Keith didn't mention this."

"No," Susan said. "Neither did Mom. I just remember reading it somewhere." She looked at the pages as Lucas turned them, absorbed by the information.

"Looks like it's more than just spells and potions in here," he said as they reached some pages on demons and warlocks. "There's stuff in here about demonic stuff too. You're sure that you didn't see what that demon looked like, Nate?"

"I'm sure," Nathan said with a sigh. "Hey, Sue, give me your hand. Maybe I can get another premonition." Susan rolled her eyes, but obliged. Once Nathan had her hand in his, he tried to focus on that familiar feeling of a premonition. But after a few minutes, nothing happened and he opened his eyes, disappointed.

"Nothing?" Susan said, seeing his frustrated face.

"Nothing," Nathan admitted. "All I know is that the demon threw athames, which really narrows it down, huh, Luke?" he added sarcastically.

"No, it doesn't," Lucas replied just as sarcastically. But then he looked down at the page he was on. "But look at this; the Lovers' Demon. 'During the course of a lovers' first days, this demon tracks them down and tries to destroy the very thing that draws them together.'"

"Like you and Shawn," Nathan said, looking at his sister. She turned red, but didn't reply. "You two are drawn together by a feeling that you have for each other. I mean, it's pretty obvious that you like him and I'm pretty sure that he likes you. So these would probably be the first days."

"Yeah, but it gets worse," Lucas replied warily. "'If, however, the love is too strong for the demon to break apart, he will try to destroy the more powerful of the two and consume their love and powers.' And he does use athames on his attacks. But on the bright side," he added, "there's a vanquishing potion."

Nathan glanced over at the page. "How long will take to make, do you reckon?" he asked, glancing at the clock. "Because we've got to be at the gym in about an hour."

"I'd reckon longer than that," Lucas answered.

"You guys go, I'll stay here and make the potion," Susan said, looking down at the page. "I mean, it's me he's after, right? You two should be safe without it."

"You sure?" Lucas asked sceptically. "I mean, you think that you'll be all right here by yourself?"

Susan nodded. "Yeah, don't worry, Luke, I'll be fine," she assured him. "Besides, I've got the power to freeze. You guys go, I'll be there as soon as I'm done with the potion."

--

Susan broke off a piece of the herb and added it to the cauldron, glancing back at the recipe in the book. "One dash of rosemary and then it should be done," she muttered as she headed back to the cabinets, picking up a jar.

Opening it up, she got a bit of rosemary between her fingers and deposited it into the cauldron. Almost immediately, an explosion sounded from the cauldron and smoke rose from it.

"Okay, either that means it's done or overdone," she said wryly, seizing some vials she had found in the attic.

Pouring some into three vials, Susan placed them in her purse, glancing down at her watch. She was now officially late for the basketball game. It had already started a half an hour ago.

Heading out the door and down the stairs, Susan closed the door to the attic, not paying any attention to where she was going. That was her biggest mistake right there.

"Leaving so soon, witch?" a voice spoke up and she whirled around, her hands flying out to freeze the intruder. The demon only smirked as he conjured an athame out of thin air. "Your power doesn't work on me, daughter of Dan and Elizabeth."

Shimmering out, he appeared behind her and Susan turned to fight him, but felt the sharp pain in her side. Looking down, she saw the athame in her side, with her white shirt now stained dark red. Stained red with blood. Her blood.

Gritting her teeth, she sank down to the ground as the demon shimmered out. Leaving her alone to die. Gasping with pain, she looked up towards the ceiling. "Luke, Nate," she gasped out, "somebody, help. Mom? Mom, please . . ."


	10. You're a Whitelighter?

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Ten: You're a Whitelighter?

Nathan glanced towards his brother when they were in the locker room during halftime. Lucas had his cell phone to his ear, obviously making a call and it was all too clear to Nathan who it was to. The game was already halfway over and there was still no sign of Susan.

Sure, she was supposed to be late due to the fact that she was trying to make the potion for the demon, but that had been hours ago! It couldn't be taking this long!

"No answer?" Nathan said in an undertone as Lucas shoved the phone back into his locker, frustrated, looking more than just a little worried.

Lucas shook his head. "I tried your house phone, I tried her cell, I tried Mom and Keith, but neither one of them had seen her . . . where on earth could she be?"

"Dunno," Nathan said, noticing that Shawn was listening. "I mean, she could've just gotten held up with that project of hers, couldn't she? She's never done it before."

"Suppose," Lucas said blandly, his blue eyes filled with anxiety. Not that Nathan could really blame him. _Susan, where the heck are you?_ "But she could have at least answered her phone so that we don't go out of our minds with worry."

"Scott!" Whitey barked and the brothers looked around at their coach. "When you two are doing putting on your make-up, you might join us back in the gym."

Shawn McCade grinned from across the locker room. "Coach, I think that you need to come up with some different jokes," he said lightly. "'Cause the make-up gag is getting a little old."

Whitey grimaced at the younger man before turning and heading back into the gym. Shawn grinned at the Scotts before following the coach. Nathan looked at his brother, worry filling through him.

"What should we do, Luke?" he asked.

Lucas sighed. "What else can we do, Nate?" was his reply. "Besides leaving in the middle of the game to go find her. I asked Uncle Keith to keep trying to call Susan and let us know if he gets a hold of her. But I don't know what else we can do, though. Susan's a big girl, Nathan, I'm sure that she's fine."

But even as his brother said the words, Nathan had a bad feeling that something, somewhere, was going terribly wrong. He just prayed that Susan was all right; he didn't want to lose a family member, however recent an addition they were.

--

Susan curled up into a ball, trying to lessen the pain. Shutting her eyes tightly, she tried hard not to cry out. It hurt . . . it hurt so much, more than she could have ever imagined. "Mom, Luke, Nate," she croaked, trying to call for help. "Karen, Keith . . . somebody, please . . . help . . ."

Lights suddenly emerged in front of her, so bright that she could see it from the insides of her eyes. It looked the same as what happened to her whenever she orbed. But only Whitelighters could orb, couldn't they? Opening her eyes, she could see the silhouette of someone materialising in the living room, but she couldn't make out who the person was . . .

"Mom?" she murmured, trying to think straight, but the loss of blood was making her head spin. Was the dead coming back for the dying?

"It's not time for you to join your mother yet, Susan," said a familiar male voice. She couldn't place the owner of the voice, though . . . "You still have so much you have left to do, with your brothers. You still have a destiny to fulfil, innocents to save and protect. You're going to do great things."

The figure knelt down beside her and Susan saw his hands begin to glow as he held them over her wound, his attention focused entirely on it. Closing her eyes again, she felt the pain start to lessen until she felt it stop completely.

Struggling to sit up, Susan opened her eyes to find someone kneeling beside her, the person who had saved her life. But it was the last person that she would've expected to have anything to do with her magical world.

"Shawn McCade?" she said incredulously. Her brothers' team-mate gave her an uneasy smile and nodded. "But—what—what are you doing here?"

"Saving you," he answered with a shrug. His brown eyes were focused down on her in concern. "Are you all right now?"

Susan nodded. "Yeah, I think so," she said, looking down where the wound had been. Emphasis on 'had.' The injury was completely gone, even the blood on her shirt had disappeared. "How'd you do that?"

"Just a talent that I have," Shawn said, a trace of a smile crossing his face. Susan stared at him and put together what had happened with what she had seen just before he'd appeared.

"White lights," she murmured, her gaze flickering up to meet his eyes in shock. "I saw white lights just before you came." Shawn shifted uncomfortably.

"Don't know what you're talking about," he said lamely, getting to his feet. "I have to go, anyway."

"Hold on a second," Susan snapped as he headed towards the door. She scrambled to her feet, walking after him. When his hand reached for the door, she asked, "You're a Whitelighter?"

The hand reaching for the door froze; in fact, all of Shawn's body froze, much like if Susan had put the freeze on him. Slowly, he turned around to look at her, his brown eyes looking shocked. "How do you know about Whitelighters?" he asked. "Witches don't usually know about their Whitelighters, at least not when they first become them."

Putting her hands on her hips, Susan retorted, "If you're my Whitelighter, then you need to get a better idea on what your charges' powers are. I'm half-Whitelighter; my mom was Dan's Whitelighter."

"I knew that," Shawn replied, irritated. "But I thought she quit being a Whitelighter and then conceived you. At least, that's what everybody Up There thinks. Even my bosses think that."

"Up where?" Susan asked, confused.

"Up There," Shawn repeated, glancing upward towards the heavens. Susan followed his gaze and then looked back at him. "Where my bosses are, where the other Whitelighters meet."

The door opened, nearly slamming into Shawn and Lucas, Nathan, Brooke, and Haley all came barging in, stopping short when they saw the two. "Thank god you're all right," Lucas muttered, looking at his sister. "Why didn't you answer your phone?"

Haley, however, was looking at Shawn. "What are you doing here?" she wanted to know. All eyes turned to him.

"Good question," Nathan said, looking at Susan. "You all right? What happened?"

"The demon attacked me," she answered, forgetting the fact that they hadn't decided whether to tell Haley and Brooke yet. When Brooke swivelled her head to look at Susan, she added, "And then Shawn orbed over here and healed me. He's a Whitelighter. Our Whitelighter, in fact."


	11. Explainations and Revelations

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Eleven: Explanations and Revelations

"What!" Lucas and Nathan both exclaimed, looking incredulously at Shawn, who shot an exasperated look towards Susan. "What do you mean, he's a Whitelighter?" Lucas added, returning his attention to his sister. "I thought that all Whitelighters were dead."

Shawn sighed. "We are," he replied. "Look, hard to explain, but I was sent to Tree Hill to watch over the two of you until Susan came and formed the Charmed Ones. I am technically dead, but I still look like a high school student, so I posed as one."

Nathan shook his head. "So you weren't a teenager when you died?" he said slowly.

"No, actually I was twenty-five," he answered with a shrug. "You can check the records if you want. I'm the same Shawn McCade that died in 1945, during World War II."

Before anyone could continue this, Brooke interrupted, "Can we put this melodrama on hold for, like, a minute? What are you people talking about? Whitelighters? The Charmed Ones?" She was looking shocked. "What is this about?"

Looking at her sharply, Shawn said quietly, "I thought you were keeping an eye on her so that she would understand all of this when she got swept up into this world, Haley."

Susan looked around to her sister-in-law, but Haley kept her attention on Shawn. "I've been trying," she retorted, the exasperation clear in her voice. "But Brooke's not exactly the easiest charge to take care of, Shawn. You try explaining the magical world to her."

Nathan stared at his wife. "How do you know about Whitelighters, Haley?" he asked.

"Because I'm a Whitelighter," she said, defeated. "I knew about you guys being witches long before you guys even knew. It was only when Susan came onto the scene that us Whitelighters began to think that you guys were the Charmed Ones."

Shaking her head, Susan returned her attention to Brooke. "Wait, if Brooke is your charge, does that mean that she's a witch, too?" she asked, disbelief surging through her.

"I'm not a witch!" Brooke yelled but Haley slowly nodded affirmatively to Susan. "Haley, I am not a witch! I do not have special powers and this whole thing is completely mental!"

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Nathan demanded, glaring at Haley. "You're the one who said that we shouldn't have secrets from each other and you were keeping the biggest one of them all!"

"Well, you couldn't know until you were ready," Haley explained quietly. "To be honest, I was trying to protect you from the pain that I went through when They found out that I'd married a witch. They sent me on the tour, trying to break us apart, but when They realised that you were going to start going down the wrong path because of it, They sent me back."

Nathan tried to put all this together in my mind when Haley returned her attention to Brooke. "As for you, Brooke," she added, "you are a witch, like your grandmother. It skipped a generation with your mom, but it carried on the lineage with you. Haven't you ever wondered how you know things about people? People that you sometimes barely even know? You have telepathic ability, you read the thoughts of people, even strangers."

Lucas looked uncomfortable for a moment. "That explains more than it doesn't," Susan heard him mutter. Glancing towards her elder brother for a minute, she looked back towards Brooke, who had an incredulous look on her face.

"Look, Brooke--" she began, but her brother's girlfriend backed away, her eyes wide. "We're new at this, too, we know what you're going through."

Brooke shook her head, her hand on the door. "Stay away from me," she whispered, opening the door and running outside. "Just stay away!"

Ignoring Haley's protest, Lucas ran out the door after her, running after the woman that he loved, that was in a great deal of fear. And running towards more danger than he could have possibly have imagined.

--

"Luke!" Susan shouted after her brother, but he was gone. Muttering a swearword under her breath, she shut the door, looking towards the other three in the foyer. "Should we go after them?" she wanted to know.

Haley sighed. "Might as well let Lucas try and calm her down a bit," she said with a sigh. "Though I don't know how he's going to get her to learn about magic; she hasn't been too fond of the topic whenever I brought it up."

"I still can't believe that you didn't tell me about this," Nathan muttered, shaking his head.

Looking at him, Haley replied, "I'm not trying to be unfair, Nathan, but if this had never happened, were you ever going to tell me about being a witch? Or were you just going to keep me in the dark in an effort to protect me from all of this?"

Choosing not to answer this, Nathan looked at his sister. "So did you finish that vanquishing potion?"

"Yeah, I was heading towards the game when the demon attacked," Susan answered. "And it looked like the demon from the book, so I think that we had the right demon." She headed back into the living room, picking up her purse and pulling out the three vials, tossing one to Nathan.

"Which demon attacked, anyway?" Haley asked, looking from Shawn to Susan and then back again. Shawn shrugged at her, his brown gaze focused upon Susan.

"The Lovers' Demon," Susan said, looking towards her sister-in-law. "At least, according to the Book of Shadows."

"That can't be right," Haley protested, shaking her head, disbelieving. "The Lovers' Demon only attacks a witch who's at the beginning stages of love and--" Her eyes flickered to Shawn and her eyes widened in realisation. "And you were gave me the whole speech about following the rules when I married Nathan," she muttered.

Shawn turned red and muttered, "Shut up, Haley."

"Would you mind not telling my wife to shut up?" Nathan shot back. Shawn glared at him, but held up his hands as a sign of peace. "Okay, so what do we do about the demon? Do we go and track him down?"

"We wouldn't even know where to begin looking, Nate," Susan pointed out, pushing a hand through her dark hair. She was looking perplexed. "What I don't get is why didn't stick around when he attacked. I mean, he has to stay if he wants to absorb my powers, right?" She looked towards Shawn and Haley for confirmation.

"Yeah, what are you thinking?" Shawn asked her, looking more like a Whitelighter now than ever.

Susan didn't answer him, however. Instead, she turned her head towards Nathan. "How long have Brooke and Lucas been dating?" she asked quickly, her expression turning wild.

"Well, they've been dating nonexclusive since the beginning of the year," Nathan answered, not understanding why she was asking him that. "But they've only been dating exclusively for about a month or two. Why do you ask?"

His sister bit her lip. "What if your premonition wasn't about the Lovers' Demon attacking me?" she asked. "What if that was showing what was going to happen when we were battling him? Maybe I'm not the Charmed One that he's after."

Nathan stared at her, awareness suddenly clicking in his head. "Because you two aren't the ones in your first days, because technically you two haven't declared feelings for each other yet," he said in realisation. "He's going to try and destroy a Charmed One who has declared their love for another and is in the beginning of a new relationship."

Nodding once, Susan added as she looked around towards the bewildered Haley and Shawn, "And he's chosen Lucas."


	12. Lovers' Quarrel

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twelve: Lovers' Quarrel

"Brooke!" Lucas yelled after his girlfriend. She ignored him, still walking briskly towards her apartment. "Will you please stop so that we can talk about this calmly?"

"Calmly!" Brooke rounded on him. "Lucas, you lied to me! I have just found out that you are a witch! That your brother and your sister are witches! That there is a world out there that I knew nothing about and it seems that I might very well be a part of it, so excuse me, Lucas Scott, but I am not exactly in a talking mood right now!"

Turning back around, Brooke continued to furiously head towards the apartment.

"And when exactly were you going to tell me about this?" she shouted, stopping again to look at him. "Lucas, I thought that we were going to trust each other this time around, but I guess that you're still the same guy that you were before!"

"Susan, Nathan and I agreed not to say anything until we were sure that you could handle it," Lucas protested. "I only found out about it when Susan came to town and Keith told us everything. Brooke, it has barely been more then a week since I found out that I had a sister and that we were some all-powerful force destined to fight evil and protect innocents from it! I didn't want you to get swept into all of this!"

"Well, too bad, because I did get swept into all of this, whether you wanted me to or not!" Brooke shouted. "Did you even know that I was one of your people or was that just another surprise that you were waiting to spring on me?"

Lucas shook his head. "I had no idea that you were a witch until Haley said so," he told her firmly. "That part was completely oblivious to me. Trust me, Susan and Nathan didn't know either. Will you please come back to Nathan's with me so all of us can talk about this?"

His girlfriend stared at him and shook his head. "How can there be such a thing as magic?" she whispered. "I gave up believing in this kind of stuff a long time ago."

"It takes some getting used to," Lucas said, wrapping his arms around her. After a minute, she laid her head onto his chest. "But when you protect people that you care about from demons, it feels pretty good."

With a sigh, Brooke looked at him. "All right," she said softly. "Let's go back. But just for the record, I'm not ready to fight these so called 'demons' just yet."

Just as Lucas opened his mouth to say something, a voice cut him off. "That's too bad, witch." Turning around, Lucas saw with shock that the Lovers' Demon from the Book of Shadows was sitting calmly on a bench. "Because I'm going to fight you, whether you like it or not. Actually, it's your boyfriend that I'm interested in."

Staring at the demon, Lucas wondered what was going on. Wasn't it Susan and Shawn that he was after? "I know who you're after," he said forcibly. "You're not going to get my sister."

The demon looked at him as if he were dense. "Your sister?" he repeated. "Stupid witch, whoever said that it was you that I was after?" His eyes returned towards Brooke and his smile turned into a grin. "After all," he added, conjuring an athame, "the firstborn is usually the most powerful in a family of witches."

Brooke screamed as he threw the athame towards them. Lucas seized her and threw them both towards the ground. "Leave her out of this, do you hear me?" he snarled.

Swinging his hand, he telekinetically threw the athame back towards the owner, missing him by inches. The demon sneered. "You need to work on your aim better, witch," he remarked. "What's the matter? Don't you have a little potion?"

"No, but I do," a female voice rang out. The demon whirled around as a potion bottle came flying through the air. Lucas watched in horror as the demon shimmered out. Calling the bottle to his hand, he looked around at Susan, Nathan, Haley, and Shawn as they ran towards him and Brooke.

The demon reappeared and he scowled at Susan. "You still alive?" he asked. Then he looked towards Shawn. "I should've known your Whitelighter would have come and healed you. What is it with the Scott family falling for their Whitelighters?"

"Spread out," Nathan ordered, taking Haley's hand. But before he could react, another athame came flying from another direction, from someone that nobody could see, heading straight for Susan.

"No!" Shawn yelled, shoving Susan towards the ground, the athame hitting him in the stomach. Nathan watched in horror as the Whitelighter slowly sank to the ground, yanking the athame out of his chest as he did so.

Lights slowly sparkled where the wound was and then it was gone, like it had never happened. With the demon's attention focused on Susan and Shawn, Nathan yanked the potion out of pocket, throwing it at the demon, unaware that Lucas was doing the same with the potion that Susan had thrown at the demon.

The potion bottles smashed at the demon's feet and he was engulfed in flames before screaming as he exploded and was vanquished. "Thank goodness," Haley muttered as she hurried to Shawn and Susan. "Are you two all right?"

Susan nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, looking at Shawn. "Thanks for saving my life."

With a glimmer of a smile, he responded, "You're welcome." Their eyes met and Susan once again felt the feeling that she did when she had looked into Shawn's eyes before, but now she wondered if it were even possible for them to even be together. If the Elders had done everything in their power to keep Haley away from Nathan, what would They do to her and Shawn?

--

Retrieving the teakettle from the stove, Susan poured the hot water into six cups of tea as Shawn entered the kitchen. "Is Brooke all right?" she asked, looking around at him.

"She's fine," Shawn assured her. "A little flustered by all of this, but she'll be fine. I mean, it's not every day that you find out that you're a witch and that your boyfriend and his siblings are witches." He was quiet for a moment and then he said, "Susan, about before . . . what did you think was going to happen between us before tonight?"

Looking at him sharply, Susan said quietly, "The same thing that everybody else thought, Shawn. And I think that on some level, you wanted it too. Why else did you risk your life to save mine? Don't give me the 'you're my charge, it's my job to protect you' speech," she added, seeing him open his mouth to say something.

"But it is my job, Susan," Shawn said resolutely. "Besides, demons can't kill Whitelighters; we're all already dead. I wasn't risking my life. Only a Darklighter can kill a Whitelighter."

The second-born Charmed One only looked at him. "That's not what it looked like to me," she responded.

Choosing not to answer this, Shawn told her, "The Elders only allowed Haley to be with Nathan because he couldn't live without her. They would not allow another Whitelighter to be with another Charmed One, believe me."

"Even one who's half-Whitelighter?" Susan pointed out. "Look, all I'm saying is that why is so forbidden for witches to be with Whitelighters? What is the harm in at least trying to make this work?"

Shawn looked at her. "Because it keeps me from doing my job," he answered. "If I pursue a relationship with you, if I allow my feelings to emerge, it will stop me from doing what I'm destined to do. Look at your mother; she fell in love with her charge and had a daughter with him, but she stopped being a Whitelighter in order to do right by you. And she didn't see the truth about Dan until it was too late."

"You are not my mother and I am not Dan," Susan pointed out quietly. "We do not have to follow in their footsteps. Besides, look at Haley and Nathan. They're together and happy, despite that it's against the rules."

Shaking his head, Shawn stepped closer to her. "I'm sorry, Susan," he whispered. "I do want this; I want it more than I've wanted anything, but the Elders put Nathan and Haley through so much. Even though they overcame it, they are still suffering from that. More, now that Nathan knows the truth about the tour. I'm not going to put you through that."

"But--" Susan was cut off as Shawn kissed her on the lips tenderly. She felt as though her body was on fire, as though nothing else in the world mattered.

And then the moment was over and she found herself staring up at Shawn. "Just for the road," he replied, touching her cheek. "You probably won't see me for a while, so goodbye."

Before she could even say another word, the Whitelighter disappeared into a series of white orbs. "Goodbye," she whispered when they vanished. But even as they did, the witch-Whitelighter felt her heart break.


	13. New Orders

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Thirteen: New Orders

The demon shook his head in confusion. "Forgive me, Mr. Scott, but did you just say not to kill the Dawson girl?" he wanted to know. The man was starting to drive him crazy; first he wanted his daughter dead and now he was saying not to kill her? What did he want from him? The man was never happy, no matter what he did.

"That's right," Dan said firmly without looking up from his paperwork. "I am telling you to leave the girl alone. You see, it's come to my attention with the vanquish of the Lovers' Demon that they are far too powerful to even consider touching whilst they are under the protection of my brother."

"Keith?" the demon repeated. "But most of this they are doing on their own, Mr. Scott, without the assistance of their uncle. Do you really think that getting him out of the way is going to matter?"

The glare that he received was enough of a reply. "He's weak," Dan said coldly, "and has been nothing but trouble ever since he stayed with Karen after she got pregnant. I want you to keep your eye on the girl, naturally, but not attack until I give you orders to. Do not worry about Keith, I will take care of him just like he tried to take care of me. But unlike my brother, I am not going to fail in my attempt. He is the surrogate father of one the Charmed Ones and he'll do anything to save any of them, along with any innocent. All I have to do is wait for the opportune moment."

Thinking this over, the demon nodded slowly. Without the protection of Keith Scott, the Charmed Ones would be vulnerable, perhaps could even be stopped before they became too much of a threat. "But what about the girl's lover?" he wanted to know. "Should we be at all concerned with the fact that she has fallen for her Whitelighter?"

Dan shook his head, looking disgusted. "Shawn McCade has already left her," he replied unconcernedly. "He is not much of a threat to us, now that he's gone. She's not going to have an in-house healer there when we finally do decide that it's time to get rid of her. With her Whitelighter gone and my brother about to be erased from the planet, then she'll be easier to get rid of, along with the Power of Three. We take care of Keith first and then go after Susan. Simple as that."

--

"Okay, that is the last of the boxes," Nathan said, dropping the box he was carrying near the door. "Susan, how much allowance did your mom give you, anyway?"

"What?" Susan asked, her head appearing from the bedroom. After much arguing from Lucas after the last demonic attack, she had finally managed to talk their older brother into letting her move into her own apartment. "After all," she had reminded him, "it's only a couple of doors down from Haley and Brooke."

Renting the apartment that Haley had recommended, the first thing that she had done was a paint job on the entire apartment, from top to bottom. She had finished with the kitchen and living room and was now doing the finishing touches on the bedroom.

"Nothing," Nathan replied with a sigh. "Hey, listen, that's the last of it, so I'd better head off and get ready for my date with Haley." He turned around and started to head out, tripping over one of the tables that Susan had put by the door and knocking over a couple of picture frames.

"Nathan!" Susan shrieked, her hands flying up. The picture frames froze in mid-crash. "Be careful!"

"Sorry!" Nathan said weakly, seizing the frames before they unfroze and set them back on the table. "Sorry, Sue." Glancing back at his sister as she started to clean up from her painting job, he added, "Susan."

Looking up at him, she asked, "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about Shawn," he told her. It hadn't taken him or Lucas long to figure out that the Whitelighter had left her behind, not saying whether or not he was coming back.

Susan looked away, an expression crossing her face that Nathan couldn't read, even with all of his powers of premonition. "Yeah, me too," she admitted. "He kissed me before he left, you know."

That threw Nathan off guard. "He--he what?" he sputtered. "He kissed you and then just took off?" Shaking his head in disdain, he muttered, "If you ask me, you deserve a whole lot better than that. Why does he think that you guys aren't going to be able to be together? I mean, Hales is a Whitelighter and she and I are able to be together, despite what we went through. Why can't you guys?"

"For one, he thinks that falling in love is going to make him unable to do his job," Susan answered with a sigh. "For another, he doesn't want the Elders to put me through what They put you through."

Nathan glanced down at his fingernails. "Yeah, I was in a pretty dark place there for a while," he said softly. "Was up until a few months back, when Haley and I started getting back on the right track. Look, for what it's worth, I think that this is going to somehow turn out all right."

Susan smiled at him. "Thanks, Nate," she said. "Now you get out of here, all right? You've got a girl waiting for you and you cannot show up on a date wearing work clothes, smelling like you just got out of gym class," she added, smirking.

"Ha, ha," Nathan said, rolling his eyes, heading out the door. "You know what, Susan, sometimes it sucks being the youngest sibling. Especially in this family."

"Love you!" Susan called after him with a laugh. Nathan stopped short at the door, looking back at his sister. When she caught him standing in the doorway, she asked, "What?"

"Nothing," Nathan said, grinning. "I love you, too." Susan smiled and Nathan headed out the door, still grinning.

--

Lucas glanced around as his sister came through the door of the now closed café. "Hey, Sue" he said with a smile. "What's going on? All settled into the new apartment?"

"Yeah and thank for letting me a big girl and get my own room," she said teasingly. Lucas flushed, not saying anything. "Seriously, Lucas, you went into big brother mode for a while there. Next thing you know, you're going to be threatening bodily harm to every guy who goes within ten feet of your little sister."

"Can I help it if I don't want anything to happen to my baby sister?" Lucas said with a grin. Susan shrugged, taking the seat next to him. Looking at his sister, Lucas noticed that while she was a little happier than she had been, she was still downcast. "So, how are you?"

"Me?" she asked, looking surprised. "I'm fine."

Lucas only looked at her. "How are you really?" he asked. Honestly, he probably could have threatened Shawn with bodily harm after he had just taken off without so much as a warning. She hadn't exactly explained what had happened with the Whitelighter, but it was clear that she didn't think that he was coming back.

"I'm getting over it," Susan replied simply before changing the subject. "So I've been doing some research, trying to find who that athame belonged to, the one that was thrown at the other night--"

"The one that Shawn took for you," Lucas supplied. Susan glared at him and he held up his hand in sign of surrender. "Sorry, done now. Continue."

"Thank you," Susan grumbled. "Now, I have looked through the Book half a dozen times and there is no clue as to who the identity of the demon might be. It's not even remotely related to any athame that I found in the Book."

"What athame?" Keith asked, coming up from behind the counter. "From the Lovers' Demon?" Lucas had told their uncle everything that happened the other night.

Susan nodded, pulling the athame out of her purse and handing it to Keith, who examined it carefully. "I can't even figure out who it might belong to. There's no demon in the Book who uses that style of an athame," she told him.

Keith nodded. "Yeah, that's because this isn't a demonic athame," he answered. "It's a witch's." At his niece and nephew's stunned expression, he explained, "This athame belonged to a witch, not a demon. Which means that either a witch was the one who attacked you or the demon killed a witch and took it from him."

"How do you know that it's a witch's and not a demon's?" Lucas asked, staring down at the athame.

"Here," Keith said, showing him the athame. "Look, right below the handle. The Triquetra, a symbol of good magic and a representation of the Power of Three, you guys. No demon would make an athame with that symbol on it."

"But why would a demon use a witch's tools?" Susan wanted to know, blue-green eyes worried.

"For a number of reasons," Keith answered. "But usually the first and foremost is because they don't want to get caught. And for the record, if a demon doesn't want to be found, it usually means that he has something to hide."

"And if it's a witch's?" Lucas asked, frowning. "What if we're wrong and it wasn't a demon?"

Keith frowned. "Then we have to find out who it was and fast," he answered. "Because a witch who crossed over is going to be more dangerous than most demon's, especially if he or she was a powerful witch."


	14. Dangers that are Human

**Author's Note: **The next few chapters are going to take place during Through Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Wept. They're also going to be the only episode that I'm going to show in my story. All episodes that occur after this are going to be irrelevant to the story.

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Fourteen: Dangers that are Human

_Surrounded by white lights, Susan looked around for the source of the light, trying to figure out where she was and what was going on. "Susan," a voice said softly. _

_Susan frowned slightly, trying to place the owner of the voice . . . it sounded familiar, so much like-- "Mom?" she whispered, trying to find her dead mother. _

_A swirl of orbs appeared and her mother appeared, smiling at her dumbfounded daughter. "My little girl," she said softly, opening her arms to her. "My daughter, my Susan." _

_"Mom," Susan repeated, tears springing into her eyes as she rushed forward into her mother's waiting arms. "Oh, my god, Mom, I can't believe this . . . but what's going on, though? How--" _

_Elizabeth Dawson shook her head. "I don't have much time to explain, Susan, so listen carefully. You and your brothers are going to be facing challenges that are more dangerous than you know and you'll be facing them alone, without the help of Keith." _

_"Why would we be doing them without Keith?" Susan asked, not understanding. None of this was making sense. None of it. Was this just a dream or was it real? "He wouldn't abandon us in the face of danger like Dan would, Mom. He's--"_

_"Believe me, daughter, it is not going to be of his own free will," Elizabeth said with a sigh. "Dan will be a contributing factor, but you won't be able to stop him. Now listen closely, there is something that will happen today, something that will test not only your destiny as a witch and a Whitelighter, but also your destiny as a sister. The dangers you face today will be nearly as dangerous as everything that you have fought before now. But remember, Susan, there are other dangers in the world and some of them are even human." _

_"What dangers?" Susan demanded. "Mom, what's going on? What's going to happen today?" _

_Her mother only shook her head, looking rueful. "It's his destiny, Susan," she replied. "Remember that. It's his destiny." _

With a gasp, Susan sat up, looking around the room, trying to figure out what was going on. "Mom?" she whispered, trying to figure out whether everything that had been in her dream had simply been that; a dream. But it seemed too real, too connected to her own life to simply be a dream. No, she was certain that it had been real. But what had her mother meant? What was going to happen?

A knock came at the door and Susan crawled out of bed, glancing at the clock to see what time it was. The clock read 6:00. "Who would come calling before seven o'clock in the morning?" she grumbled as she opened her apartment door.

"Hey, neighbour girl," Brooke greeted, walking into the apartment without Susan letting her in. "Okay, you seriously weren't going to go to school like that, were you?" she asked, staring at Susan's nightgown critically. "And we seriously need to get you some new night clothes."

Susan glared at her. "I happen to like these," she told her, closing the door. "Brooke, what are you doing here? It's like the crack of dawn. I thought people were supposed to sleep late in Tree Hill."

"Usually, they do," Brooke said with a shrug. "Unfortunately, I'm not one of them because Lucas and I agreed to not have sex until our feelings were ready to have it without either one of us getting our hearts broken." She shrugged. "Well, it seemed like a pretty good idea in the beginning."

Susan made a gagging noise. "You do realise that's my brother that you're talking about, don't you?" she wanted to know, making some tea. "Brooke, seriously, what are you doing here so early?"

Brooke shrugged. "Well, Haley never made it home last night, Lucas had to go to school early for a basketball practice, so I figured that we could walk over to Peyton's together before heading over to school," she explained. "Unless you've got some boy toy in your bedroom there," she added, glancing towards the bedroom.

"Okay, enough," Susan ordered. "Fine, I'll go get dressed. Just keep an eye on the hot water for me, will you? Because unless you want me to be crabby, I'm going to need tea before school."

--

Haley spotted her sister-in-law walking into the school with Brooke and Peyton. "Susan!" she called, hurrying up to talk to her.

"Hey, Tutor Girl," Brooke greeted. "How come you never made it home last night? Did Nathan get lucky last night?"

Susan rolled her eyes and Haley shook her head. "Hasn't anybody told you that there are things that you just don't talk about in front of your boyfriend/husband's sister and that's your relationship with them?" she wanted to know.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that it comes with the whole sibling thing?" Brooke replied.

"Brooke, you're embarrassing the poor girl," Haley said sympathetically, then tugged on Susan's arm. "Come on, Susan, I wanted to talk to you about something. Besides, it'll get you away from Brooke," she added, teasing her roommate. Scowling at her, Brooke headed off into the school with Peyton, leaving Susan with Haley.

"Can we walk and talk at the same time?" Susan asked and Haley nodded, walking into the school towards the tutoring centre. "So, what's up?"

"Actually, I wanted to know how you were dealing with Shawn," Haley answered.

Susan sighed, a look crossing her face that was half-sadness and half-pain. "I miss him," she answered. "A lot, actually. I just don't understand why he's so willing to let go of something that could potentially be really great. Never mind the fact that it could potentially be really bad, too."

"Honestly, I think that he knows how hard it was for Nathan and I to get where we are today," Haley said softly. "You've just found out that you're a powerful you-know-what and he doesn't want things to be any more difficult."

"Yeah," Susan said with a sigh. "Well, no offence, Hales, but I'm changing the subject. I had this dream this morning and it was kind of weird. Mom was there and she was telling me all of these things."

"What kinds of things?" Haley asked.

"That I was going to be facing challenges with Luke and Nate," Susan answered. "And we'd be doing them without Keith. Something about Dan is going to be a contributing factor with it and that I'm not going to be able to stop him. There's going to be something that's going to happen today with great dangers. She also said that there are other dangers and some are even human."

"Well, that's true," Haley said with a shaky smile. "There are a lot of dangers out there that aren't demonic." Then she looked at her sister-in-law, who was biting her lip nervously. "Susan, don't worry about it, all right? It was only a dream."

"Right," Susan said softly. "Just a dream." She didn't look or sound like she believed it, though. Neither did Haley, though, come to think of it. Elizabeth wouldn't have come with a message like that to Susan unless it was serious.

"Try not to worry, okay?" Haley repeated. "I've got to get to the tutoring centre. You going to be okay?"

"Yeah, go ahead, Hales," Susan said, managing a weak smile. "Don't worry about me. Go."

With a small nod, Haley headed off to the tutoring centre, hoping that Susan was going to be all right. But just as she was heading into the centre, somewhere in the school, a gunshot went off.


	15. Dangers that are Human II

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Fifteen: Dangers that are Human II

The minute that the gunshot went off, Susan's hands flew out to freeze the scene, but as people started to run and scream in every direction, someone slammed into her, knocking her to the ground.

Struggling to get to her feet, Susan was hit once again by somebody running and this time she hit the lockers. _There are other dangers out there and some of them are even human,_ her mother's words from the dream came back to her once more.

_Who would want to do this to us? _Susan wondered, wishing for the first time that she was at home. Safe, where there wasn't any danger, where she could be protected.

The minute that she realised what she was thinking, Susan shook her head to clear it. _Enough,_ she told herself, despite the screaming and running of the other students. _I'm destined to vanquish demons and protect the innocent with my brothers. I am a twice-blessed child, a witch and a Whitelighter, destined to help people on both sides of my blood. I am the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy with my brothers, but I have one incident with human dangers and I go to pieces? Enough. _

Getting to her feet, Susan looked around the hallway, which was pretty much cleared out in the few minutes since the gunshot had gone off. But where was the shooter?

Swallowing her fears, Susan walked unsteadily through the deserted halls, searching for the person who had turned their school into a place to fear, into a place where a person could feel like they weren't safe, a place where they had something to dread.

--

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Lucas interrupted Brooke as she blurted out what had happened in the school a few minutes ago. Behind them, Whitey was shouting at students to get on the bus that would take them to the other gym. Towards safety, whatever that meant anymore. There was danger in a place where they should have been safe. "Peyton was shot?"

"No, I don't know!" Brooke cried, tears streaming down her face. "One minute she was behind me and then next I couldn't find her!"

"Haley's in the tutoring centre," Nathan said, his dark blue eyes filled with fear mixed with determination.

"So is Susan," Brooke told him. "At least, she had gone off with Haley before we went into the school. That was about ten minutes ago, so she might be somewhere else."

Haley, Susan, and Peyton might all still be inside. The thoughts swirled in Lucas's mind as Nathan took off towards the school. "Nathan, get back here!" Whitey barked at the youngest Scott.

"Coach, I got him!" Lucas called, hurrying after his brother. When Brooke shouted after him to stop, he looked back at her, torn between his girlfriend and his family. "Brooke, I'll be right back," he promised. He never should have promised her that, he would later realise. Because it would be a promise that he would break. "Nathan!"

Tackling his little brother from behind, Lucas landed in a heap next to Nathan, who only got back to his feet. "What are you doing, man?" he demanded, looking incredulously at Lucas. "Haley's inside! So is Susan! They could both be in danger!"

Without another word, Nathan raced into the school. Making his decision, Lucas headed into the school after his brother, praying that they would all make it out of here alive.

The hallways were empty as the entered, backpacks and notebooks throw in every direction. Thankfully, Lucas didn't see any bodies, nor any sight of anyone hurt. "Come on," Nathan muttered, heading towards the gym.

Wondering what his brother had in mind, Lucas followed him through the locker room to Whitey's office. "So do you have a plan?" he asked as he closed the door behind him. Nathan was picking up two baseball bats, handing one of them to Lucas.

"Yeah, go to the tutoring centre, get Haley, then find Susan," he answered simply.

"Nathan, someone has a gun in here," Lucas pointed out. "Baseball bats aren't going to be much use up against that."

"Well, you have the power of telekinesis," Nathan reminded him. "Lucas, we've faced demons before, but now we're just going to leave when there are people that we love and care about in danger here?" His dark blue gaze was tearing through Lucas, making him feel guilty for even making a suggestion of leaving. "What if something happens to Haley or Susan—or Peyton for that matter? How are we going feel if we just walk away and something happens to any of them? We're supposed to be protectors of the innocent."

Going against his better judgement, Lucas slowly nodded. "All right," he said finally. "Let's go." Grasping the handle of the bat that Nathan had handed him, Lucas followed his little brother out of the locker room and into the school to find their loved ones.

--

"So can I go now?" Brooke asked when the police officer finished questioning her about what had happened in the school. All around her, she could see parents trying to find their children, other officers questioning the students.

He shook his head. "No, you have to wait until one of your parents gets here," he told her. Brooke wanted to scream in frustration, in fear of the people that were still inside that school, people she cared about.

"But my parents don't live here," she explained, trying to make him understand her situation.

But he only shrugged as he went off to talk to some other students. "Then I guess you'll be here for awhile," he told her.

Furious, Brooke went over to the bench, tears starting to prickle her eyes. Pushing them impatiently away, she pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to block out the mass hysteria that was engulfing her mind. Ever since she had discovered that she was telepathic, she seemed to have been hearing voices in her head more and more.

_Stop it,_ she told her witch self. _Just stop it. Leave me alone, I can't deal with this right now! I can't listen to all of this when I'm just as worried as scared as the rest of them. _

"Brooke!"

Hearing someone call her name, Brooke looked up to see a young man hurrying towards her. Her mouth actually dropped open. "Shawn?" she said in disbelief as he slowed to a stop in front of her. "What—what are you doing here?"

The Whitelighter let out a sigh. "It's a long story," he answered, taking the seat next to her. "This is pretty big news Up There. They said something was going to happen, but even They don't know exactly what. And . . ." His voice faltered and he looked down. "And I wanted to make sure that Susan was safe."

Hearing the tone in his voice, Brooke stared at him. "You love her, don't you?" she asked.

Shawn sighed and slowly nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I do," he whispered. "I do, Brooke, but I still don't know how we're going to make it work. She's still a Charmed One. I'm still a Whitelighter."

Brooke nodded, deciding to change the subject. "Well, are they okay?" she asked. "Is Haley and Peyton okay?"

"I don't know about Peyton," he answered with a sigh, "but everybody else is okay. For now, at least."

"Well, why can't you do that flying thing and go over there and get them out of there?" Brooke grumbled. Right now, she really didn't care if they exposed magic. All she wanted was everybody to be safe.

"They won't let me," Shawn said with a sigh. "At least, not yet. If something happens where their lives are in danger, then They will, but . . ." He left his sentence unfinished. "We're just going to have to wait this one out for now," he finally said.

With a sigh, Brooke looked at him sharply. "You know, Shawn, Susan was really upset when you left," she told him. The Whitelighter looked away, shame rising into his face. "She's not just my boyfriend's sister; she's become a really good friend to me and unless you're going to stick around here for good, I don't think that you should even so much as talk to Susan."

"I wasn't planning on running," Shawn replied simply. At Brooke's questioning look, he looked down at his hands. "Look, I'm not saying that it's not going to be hard for us and that it's going to be a lot of pain, but . . . I'm willing to give it a try."


	16. Dangers that are Human III

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Sixteen: Dangers that are Human III

"Hey, Nate," Lucas suddenly said, noticing the bloodstain near the door where glass had been shot out of. "Look." He nodded towards it and Nathan looked, biting his lip. "Could be Peyton."

His brother shook his head. "We don't know that, Luke," he pointed out. He saw the desperation on Lucas's face. "Lucas, I have to go find Haley. Maybe we should divide and conquer."

Lucas nodded slowly, knowing that splitting up might not be the best idea, but it was the only one that they had. "Nathan, be careful, all right?" he told him.

"You too," Nathan said, the worry for everyone who was still in the school revealed in his face. Without looking back, he headed down the hall to the tutoring centre, leaving Lucas standing in the hallway by the library.

Opening the glass door, Lucas slowly and quietly headed through the school, his eyes flickering back and forth through the halls for any danger. A figure slowly caught his eye and he flung out his arm, sending the person slamming into the wall before they had a chance to say or do anything.

"Lucas!" the figure exclaimed, getting to her feet. "What are you doing!"

"Susan!" Lucas winced and hurried to help his sister to her feet. She massaged the back of her neck, glaring at him. "I am so sorry, Susan, I didn't see you there."

"I think your aim would contradict that," she responded dryly but accepted his help. "Where's Nathan?" she wanted to know, looking around for their little brother, as if expecting him to pop out of the corner or from beyond the hallway.

"He went to go find Haley. We split up, somebody's hurt," he explained, pointing towards the trail of blood leading into the library. "I think that it might be Peyton."

Susan bit her lip, obviously torn. Then she sighed. "I'll stay with you," she said, falling into step with him as they entered the library. Lucas listened carefully for somebody there.  
His sister tugged on his sleeve for a minute and he looked at her. Putting a finger to her lip, she pointed towards the other end of the library and tapped her ear. _"I hear something," _she mouthed at him.

_"Okay,"_ Lucas mouthed back. Signalling her to stay where she was, Lucas slowly moved through the library to where Susan had heard the noise. Slowly, he turned the corner, about to swing the bat.

"Lucas!" Peyton shrieked, trying to pull away from him. Dropping the bat, he knelt down beside her, staring in horror at her leg, which was bleeding pretty good.

"Peyton, it's okay," he said. Susan appeared beside him, fear tracing into her face when she saw the situation. "It's okay."

"What happened?" Susan asked, trying to inspect the damage on Peyton's leg.

"I got cut by some glass," Peyton explained, her voice filled with pain and fear. She looked at Lucas. "Luke, I lost Brooke, I'm sorry."

"She's fine, she's fine," Lucas assured her, stopping Susan from doing more damage to her leg as she moved to try and clean the cut. This was probably no cut caused by glass. "You on the other hand are not. We've got to get you out of here."

"Luke, she can't walk like that," Susan protested, her blue-green eyes wide with a mixture of worry and panic.

Lucas closed his eyes, breathing in deeply to calm himself, trying to figure out what to do. Susan was probably right; Peyton couldn't walk with that bad of an injury . . . but if they just sat here, what would happen?

"All right," he finally said, sitting down next to Peyton. "All right, we'll stay here for awhile, unless something happens and we absolutely need to get out of here."

"I'll go block up the entrance," Susan said, getting to her feet and heading towards the doors of the library. Lucas watched her go and then looked at Peyton, who smiled ruefully at him.

"Your entire family has the need to save people, don't they?" she murmured softly. Lucas managed a weak smile and nodded.

"You have no idea," he told her.

--

Nathan nearly had a heart attack when he ran into Mouth outside the AV room and had nearly clobbered him with the bat that he was holding. After he had explained what was happening, Mouth decided to stick with Nathan. If Nathan could've foreseen the dangers that were going to await them, if only he could've known what would happen, then he might have argued. He might have forced Mouth to go outside, to safety.

Once outside the tutoring centre, Nathan slipped his identification underneath the door, praying the Haley was inside. _Oh, god, don't let anything happen to her,_ Nathan prayed silently. _This entire destiny thing is worth nothing if I don't have Haley with me. _

And then he heard her voice whispering, "Always."

Their secret code that had meant everything to the both of them. "And forever," Nathan finished, speaking through the keyhole. Mouth was waiting impatiently for the door to open, looking this way and that for the shooter.

Finally, at long last, the door opened and Nathan practically seized hold of Haley, holding her tightly and thanking the Powers that Be that she was safe from harm.

After making sure that she was safe, he said, "Come on." He looked around at the room at large. There were six of them, including Haley, but not including him and Mouth. "We've got to get out of here."

"What about the shooters?" one of the girls—what was her name? Abby? —wanted to know, her voice fearful.

Nathan shook his head firmly. "There's nobody out there," he told them. "I've been through that hall half a dozen times and I didn't see a single person out there the entire time. Let's go."

Just as they were about to exit the room, a lone voice said, "You're not going anywhere." Nathan looked around at the speaker, his heart jumping into his throat.

Jimmy Edwards was standing in the back of the room, holding a gun with his hand on the trigger.

--

Susan hugged her knees tightly as she sat with Lucas and Peyton while the world around them was spinning out of the control. _Mom, what's going to happen? _she thought, not really expecting an answer. _Is everybody going to be kept safe?_

"You okay?" Peyton asked, her voice unusually faint. Her blue eyes were focused on Susan and she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, rubbing her forearm gently. She'd left her jacket in her locker and now she wished that she had brought it. "It's just a little cold in here, that's all."

Lucas had been fiddling with his phone. "Piece of junk," he grumbled, finally returning it to his pocket. "Can't even get a signal in here. I was trying to call Keith to let him and Mom know that we're okay."

Peyton let out a harsh laugh. "We're never going to be okay after this, Luke," she whispered. "It doesn't matter if we make it out of here, if we go on and live our lives the best that we can. We are going to carry this day around with us for the rest of our lives. We're never going to be able to let it go. Nothing is going to seem so bad, after this."

Catching her brother's eye, Susan saw the uneasy look that passed his face. He knew as well as she did that everything in their lives was just as bad as this, maybe even worse.

"Luke," Peyton finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had passed through them. "It was your friend. The one from the time capsule? He had the gun."

"What time capsule?" Susan asked, frowning. Lucas stared at her, then seemed to remember that she had only been there for a few weeks.

"We made a time capsule last year, were just supposed to record some things that we had on our mind," Lucas explained. "Anyone, a couple of weeks ago, somebody unleashed the time capsule and broadcasted it all over the school—"

"And on the Internet," Peyton put in. She was leaning against Lucas, her breathing slow and gentle, as though she were sleeping.

Lucas looked at her. "Are you sure that it was Jimmy?" he asked. "Are you really sure, Peyton?"

Peyton nodded. Lucas glanced at Susan, who stared back warily. "Luke," Susan muttered softly. "If we have to get her out of here and we run into him, do you want me to . . . you know . . ." She twitched her nose in an imitation of Samantha Stevens.

Her brother only bit her lip, trying to decide. "Only if he starts shooting," he answered softly, glancing at Peyton to see if she was listening. But the girl was starting to drift off into sleep. "Oh, god, I hope nothing happens to Nathan."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that our Charmed destiny isn't supposed to end so abruptly," Susan pointed out quietly. Then she looked at him sharply. "Do you want me to orb out of here and tell Keith that we're okay?"

"And risk exposing magic?" Lucas said sharply, more loudly than he meant to.

"Lucas!" Susan whispered, horror filling in her voice. She was looking at Peyton. When Lucas looked, he saw what had startled her. Peyton's eyes were wide open and she was looking at the both of them.

And she had heard every word.


	17. Dangers that are Human IV

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Seventeen: Dangers that are Human IV

Peyton was pulling away from Lucas as much as she could without doing damage to her leg. "What are you guys talking about?" she demanded, her voice shaking. "Who are you? What are you?"

"Okay, easy, Peyton, easy," Lucas said, trying to calm her down a bit. He exchanged a look with his sister. This was going to be hard to get out of. He didn't know any way out of except to tell Peyton the truth. "Look, there is a perfectly easy explanation for all of this."

"Right," Susan said, too cheerfully for the tense situation. "You're hallucinating."

Lucas and Peyton stared at her. "Look, I might be bleeding to death here," Peyton said flatly, "and I might have lost a lot of blood, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid."

Susan sighed. "Well, it was worth a try," she muttered. Lucas glared at her, giving her a warning look. "You sure that you want to know, Peyton? You really sure?"

"Yes," Peyton said, the exasperation evident in her voice. Her eyes were looking between the two siblings.

"We're witches," Lucas said finally when Susan didn't continue to explain all of this. When Peyton looked at him in shock, he added, "And not your everyday kind of witches, either, Peyton. We . . . we have powers that we use to fight—"

"Demons and warlocks," Susan added when Lucas was unable to continue. "We use them to protect the Innocent and save them from these demons."

"You have got to be kidding me," Peyton said after this revelation. "I mean, this has got to be some kind of a joke. There—there's no such thing as witches or demons . . . is there?"

Susan exchanged a long look with Lucas and he shrugged. Getting to her feet, she concentrated on that familiar feeling on orbing and orb out. She was only gone for a second before she orbed into the same place.

When she materialised, Peyton was gaping at her, shock radiating from her eyes. "Okay . . ." she muttered. "Okay . . . so this isn't a joke . . . you had to tell me this now? Right when I'm dying?"

"You're not dying, Peyton," Lucas said firmly, fear tracing through him at the very thought. "You're not."

Peyton managed a shaky laugh. "Lucas, it's not glass in my leg, is it? Because all three of us know that. So unless you two have some magical cure for this, then I think that we can pretty much say that I'm dying."

At her words, Lucas looked around at Susan, the question evident in his eyes. "Sue, don't Whitelighters have the ability to heal good people?" he wanted to know. "I mean, your mom was a Whitelighter, can't you—?"

Susan shook her head. "I don't think so," she admitted. "If another Whitelighter was here, then I could probably tap into their healing powers, but . . ."

"Sorry, just thought I'd ask," Lucas said with a sigh.

"What's a Whitelighter?" Peyton asked, frowning slightly at the two siblings. She cried out as a jolt of pain shot through her leg.

"A guide," Susan supplied. "Think of Whitelighters as guardian angels for witches. And future Whitelighters," she added more quietly.

Peyton nodded softly, her eyes closing again. "Too bad we don't have one of those around," she murmured, her head on Lucas's shoulder. "Because I don't think I can hold on much longer."

Lucas looked at her sharply, but the girl's eyes were closed again. Susan exchanged a look with him before getting to her feet. "Come on, Luke," she said immediately, "we're getting out of here."

--

As Jimmy—with much reluctance—let Abby go due to her being diabetic and in much need of her insulin, Nathan whipped out his phone and began text-messaging to his dad, telling him what the situation was with Edwards and those in the tutor centre.

"What are you doing!" Jimmy yelled as he turned around, the fury in his eyes evident. "I thought you said you didn't have your phone! They better not come in here! I promise you, whoever steps into that hallway is going to die!"

He had no sooner spoken than the sound of a door closing echoed in the distance. Somehow, though Nathan didn't know how, he knew that it was Lucas and Susan. _Oh, god, don't hurt them,_ Nathan begged silently.

"Guess that's my cue," Jimmy said softly, heading towards the door, his finger on the trigger.

"Don't!" Rachael cried out, tears pouring down her face. "Just stop. Change it."

"You know, they're going to remember me as a monster," Jimmy said softly. "I wonder how they'll remember all of you." Then he was gone, left to go find whoever was in the hallway.

Nathan held onto Haley as she sobbed into his chest, panic rising into his chest as the sound of a gun being fired sounded.

Without warning, just as the shot was fired, he was thrown into a premonition. He saw Keith kneeling beside the body of Jimmy Edwards. Then Dan was there, picking up the gun that lay by Edwards. Keith stood up, staring at Dan as he pointed the gun directly at Keith . . . and fired.

His chest heaving with fear as the premonition ended, Nathan pulled away from Haley, about to head out the door, determined to stop this one premonition from coming true when a second shot sounded. And Nathan Scott knew that the premonition had come true. Everything had changed forever.

--

"Look, you'd better go find Nathan," Lucas said as he pushed the glass door open, Peyton in his arms. He looked firmly at his sister. "Don't worry, I've got an active power, remember?"

"You sure?" Susan said worriedly, the apprehension etched into her face.

"I'm sure," Lucas said reassuringly. "It's like you said; our destiny isn't supposed to end so abruptly. There's bigger things that we have to face."

Susan sighed and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, big brother," she whispered.

Lucas stared at her and she smiled at him, tears threatening to spill down her face as she went down the other hallway to go find Nathan at the tutoring centre.

"Hey, little sister!" Lucas said and she stopped, looking back. "Just for the record, I love you too."

She nodded once. "Yeah, I know," she told him. "Get her out of here, Luke." Then she vanished as she took off, disappearing into the other corridor.

Taking a deep breath, Lucas headed into the hallway to get Peyton out of here when a voice yelled, "What are you doing? The school's on lockdown!" And Lucas turned to face his old friend who had brought dangers into the school.

"I know, Jimmy," Lucas said, looking straight at Edwards. But the other boy was staring fearfully at Peyton. "But she's bleeding and if I don't get her out of here, she's going to die."

Jimmy looked scared at his words, terror written on his face. "I didn't mean to hurt her," he whimpered.

Lucas didn't know what to say to this. But he didn't have to. Another voice spoke up. "We know that, Jimmy."

Keith stepped into the hallway and Jimmy let out a scream of frustration. "What is this?" he shouted, looking around as though he were expecting more people to come into the school. "The school's on lockdown!"

"Jimmy, come on," Keith said persuasively. "Just let them go and we can talk about this." He walked in front of Lucas, shielding him from the gun. Then he locked eyes with his nephew for a minute. "Go on, Luke," he said softly.

Lucas walked towards the exit, Keith moving with him to protect him from the gun. "Keith—" he began, but his uncle shook his head, stopping him.

"Luke, I love you. Now go," he said quietly.

Not knowing that this would be the last time that he would ever see his uncle alive again, Lucas obeyed, leaving Keith and Jimmy in that hallway and taking Peyton out of the school. It would be a decision that he regretted forever.

--

Susan walked through the hall as she kept a careful eye out for the shooter, her hands held out in front of her so that she could freeze the scene if need be. She was within distance of the tutoring centre when she heard a gunshot fire.

Freezing on the spot, Susan felt fear surge through her, her thoughts immediately turning towards the brother she had left in the hallway.

"Luke," she whispered. Immediately, she started running down the hallway in the direction that she had just come from.

_You and your brothers are going to be facing challenges that are more dangerous than you know and you'll be facing them alone, without the help of Keith . . . it is not going to be of his own free will. Dan will be a contributing factor, but you won't be able to stop him, _Elizabeth's voice sounded in her mind.

_Oh, god, Uncle Keith,_ Susan thought, the implications of her dream finally catching up with her. _Please, don't let it be true. Oh, please, please, don't let it be true. Let my family be safe. Keep them safe. Don't let anything happen to them. _

Just as Susan rounded the corner, another shot sounded. Susan flicked her wrists to freeze the scene, but it was too late. Her uncle was lying motionless on the ground, his warm brown eyes suddenly sightless, seeing nothing.

And for the first time since her arrival in Tree Hill, Susan Dawson-Scott came face to face with the man who had fathered her and her two brothers. And the man who had held the gun at her uncle and fired it. Dan Scott.


	18. Unbearable Sacrifice

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Eighteen: Unbearable Sacrifice

Father and daughter remained perfectly still as the gun dropped from Dan's hand, clattering to the ground, both staring at each other in shock. "Well, I guess I finally get to meet my daughter," Dan said at last, surveying the grief-stricken girl. "It's Susan, isn't it?"

Ignoring him, Susan looked past her father to her beloved uncle, lying on the ground. "Keith," she whispered, rushing to his side, pulling his head into her lap. Tears started to form in her eyes, blinding her.

She slowly shut her uncle's eyes, not hearing Nathan's approach until her little brother's voice rang out. "Dad, what are you doing? What do you think you're _doing_?"

Her head shooting up, Susan stared in shock as Dan held a gun on her, about to fire when Nathan had approached. But when his son had appeared, Dan removed his finger from the trigger, looking annoyed at the interruption.

Nathan stopped where he was when he saw the scene in front of him; Susan, tears staining her cheeks, holding Keith against her, his eyes shut in everlasting sleep. Dan, holding the gun towards Susan, about to fire on her.

Fury flew through Nathan, nearly engulfing him. How could he have had that premonition if he wasn't meant to stop it? Why? Why wasn't he meant to stop it? How could he have gotten here too late to save Keith?

Trying to calm his anger and fury, Nathan walked towards Susan, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sue?" he whispered, trying to shake her out of his daze. "Sue, give me a sign you can hear me."

She turned glazed eyes towards him, her lower lip trembling slightly. "Nathan?" she whispered.

"Yeah, it's me," Nathan answered softly, holding her against him. "It's okay, Sue, it's me."

"He killed him," Susan muttered, crying by now onto his chest. "He killed him, Nate. Dan killed Keith."

"I know," Nathan whispered just as the S.W.A.T. team came storming in. He looked up at them as they took in the situation.

"What happened, Mayor?" one of them demanded, seeing the danger had already passed.

But it wasn't passed, Nathan realised, not for the Charmed Ones. This was only the beginning of their journey. It was their curse and destiny.

"Kid killed my brother," Dan said smoothly, apparently not having paid attention to what Susan had said. He obviously didn't know that Susan had seen everything. "Then he shot himself."

"That's not true!" Nathan protested, forgetting that he hadn't actually been there for the actual murder. He had only seen it in a premonition. And he couldn't really explain that without exposing magic to the world.

"Nathan, Nathan," Dan said with a sigh. "You weren't even here. And your sister is obviously very distraught, she can't really be expected to think straight about what happened—"

"How do you know?" Nathan exploded. Susan nearly jumped a mile, startled out of her daze. "You've never even met her before now, Dad! You don't know what she's like and I can tell you one thing: she knows what she's talking about! Edwards didn't kill Keith, Dad, you did. He's the one who shot Keith," he added to the S.W.A.T. team. "So arrest him."

--

After Lucas had been checked over to make sure that he wasn't one of the shooters, he immediately went over to his mom, who held onto him tightly, thanking the Powers that Be that he was safe. When he released Karen, Brooke was immediately by his side, holding on to him tightly, as though her life depended on it.

Lucas held Brooke against him as she clung to him, the fear and anxiety evident in her eyes. "Is she going to be okay?" she whispered, specifying Peyton, who had already left to go to the hospital for treatment.

"She'll be fine," Lucas answered gently, brushing the dark hair out of her eyes. "Don't worry, Brooke, she'll be fine." That's when he noticed Shawn McCade standing nearby, watching the building worriedly. "What are you doing here?" he demanded harshly.

"Don't get me the lecture, Lucas," Shawn said warily. "Your girlfriend already read me the riot act. Look, I know that I left for all the wrong reasons, but I'm here to stick around this time. At least, for as long as I can."

"You expect me to believe that?" Lucas said, incredulous. "You broke my sister's heart! You don't deserve her!"

"Isn't that up to Susan?" Shawn said bluntly, returning his gaze to the building. The S.W.A.T. team had entered a few minutes ago, but as Lucas looked, they were heading out, leading a handcuffed Dan Scott away.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked, staring in shock at Dan. Lucas shook his head disbelieving.

"I don't know, Brooke," he admitted. That's when he saw Nathan, Haley, and Susan heading their way. Susan, he now saw, had her face drained of colour and looked as though she were about to collapse on the spot.

Shawn lunged forward and caught her just as she fell forward. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her over to one of the benches and sat her down on it, talking to her gently.

Deciding that the Shawn/Susan situation could wait, Lucas looked around at his brother. "Nathan, what happened?" he demanded, looking between him and his sister-in-law. Haley looked as though she had been crying and Nathan didn't look any better.

"Keith's dead," Nathan said hoarsely. Karen let out a strangled cry and Lucas couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breath . . . no, no, no, not Keith, he couldn't be dead . . . oh, god, don't let it be true . . . "Susan saw the whole thing."

Lucas backed away, his mind reeling from this fact. This couldn't be happening, not now. Not after everything seemed to be going right for once. "Nathan, please tell me that this isn't true," he whispered.

"Believe me, Luke, I wish it weren't," Nathan told him, looking just about as horrified as Lucas was by all of this. "And Edwards wasn't the one who killed him. It was Dan. He killed his own brother. Not to mention, he was about to pull the trigger onto Susan if I hadn't gotten there when I did."

Brooke had gone white by this statement. "Dan killed his own brother?" she asked huskily. "And almost killed his own daughter? That's low, even for him."

Looking around at Karen, Lucas grabbed his mom's hands and led her to away from the scene to the car. He had to get out of here. He had to get both of them out of here. They couldn't deal with this. It was too much.

Nathan watched his brother and Karen leave. Brooke started to go after them when Haley stopped her. "Don't," she said softly. "Let them go. They need time to deal with this. Give them a little while alone before you go over there, Brooke."

"She's right," Nathan said quietly. "I guess I better go straighten everything out with the police."

"I'll go with you," Haley said softly. Just as the two were about to head over to the officers, Brooke's voice stopped them.

"Why did this have to happen?" she wanted to know. Nathan looked around at her. "What could Dan possibly hope to gain by this? Why kill Keith and why try to kill his own daughter?"

Nathan looked back towards the handcuffed Dan, not understanding the crime any more than Brooke did. Nothing about this made sense. Nothing.

--

Susan hugged her knees tightly, crying even more than she had at the school. White lights appeared in the bedroom and Shawn materialised, looking down at her, his brown eyes grave. Without saying a word, he climbed onto her bed, pulling her into his comforting and protective embrace.

"Don't you dare leave again," she whispered once her tears had subsided a little. "Don't you dare, Shawn. I've already lost Mom, now Keith. I won't—I can't—lose you too."

Shawn nodded. "I know," he whispered. "I'm sorry, Susan. I just—I thought things would've been easier, better." He kissed her on the forehead. "I just wanted to protect you from the hurt that your brother and sister-in-law went through."

Susan nodded. "I know," she whispered. "And it would've been easier, Shawn, believe me, I know that. But not better. You're the one that I want, not any other guy. I could probably go and date somebody else, but then I would regret not being with you. And life's too short to live in regret."

Nodding in agreement, Shawn pulled her down onto the bed, his arms wrapped around her shoulders, her arms wrapped around his waist. They didn't talk much after that, just stayed there holding each other until morning.


	19. Words Spoken in the Heat of Anger

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Nineteen: Words Spoken in the Heat of Anger

"Nathan?" Susan called out tentatively as she walked into the Scott house. "Lucas?"

Since her uncle's death a few days previously, Karen and Lucas had been staying with Nathan, Haley, and Nathan's mom, Deb, who had returned to Tree Hill after the incident at the high school. While she had counted on Deb being somewhat like Dan after seventeen years of marriage to him, Susan had been surprised to discover that she genuinely liked Deb.

When no one answered her call, Susan climbed the stairs, easing the door open to her little brother's room. "Nathan?" she asked, blinking at the sudden darkness. Then she made out two figures on the bed—one of them being her brother and the other her sister-in-law—fast asleep. It was clear that whatever they were doing beforehand was not suited for all audiences.

"Jeez, Nathan!" she grumbled, closing the door quickly and as quietly as she could, trying to get that picture out of her head. The next room that she went to was Lucas's, hoping that she wasn't going to get the same picture.

Thankfully, Brooke wasn't in the room, nor was any other girl. But then again, neither was Lucas. "Luke?" she asked, walking into the room. "Hey, Luke, you here?" She looked around, but her older brother wasn't anywhere to be found.

With a frown, she exited the room and began to climb the stairs to the attic, the only place in the house where she thought he might be. Thankfully, her guess turned out to be right. Lucas was sitting on the couch in the attic, the Book of Shadows sitting in his lap as he flipped through the pages.

"Lucas?" she asked, announcing her presence. He looked up at her and she was startled to see the defeated look in his eyes. Never, in the few weeks that she had known him, had she seen him like this. She couldn't have imagined her big brother ever looking so . . . so haunted and lost.

Her eyes flickered to the Book and she walked over to him, sitting beside him to see what page he was on. "What are you doing?" she asked, spotting the spell to call a lost witch.

She knew that it was a stupid question; it was all too clear what he was doing and whom he was trying to summon.

"Why can't we fix this, Sue?" he asked finally, slamming the Book shut. "If we're supposed to be such powerful witches, then how come magic can't fix this?"

"Because no spell can bring back the dead," Susan said, starting to cry now. She thought that she had run out of tears, but apparently not. "We both know that. Don't you think I want to? But Luke no matter how hard we want to, we can't bring the dead back to life. It's just not possible. I wish it were."

"Then what good is being a witch?" Lucas demanded, getting to his feet, crossing the attic impatiently. "What's the point of even having these powers if we can't save the ones that we love?"

Susan bit her lip. "Luke . . ." she said quietly, her voice shaking. "You're not the only one who loves and misses Keith."

Lucas rounded on her, blue eyes blazing with fury and anger. "Love him? You didn't love him, all right? You didn't even know him, Susan! You've been here, for what? A few weeks? That's not enough time to get to know him, let alone love him!"

Her breath caught in her throat at those words and she struggled back tears. _Words spoken in the heat of anger are never from the heart,_ her mother's saying came back to her. And even though Susan knew that Lucas didn't mean it, the words still hurt.

Getting to her feet, Susan crossed the room to where Lucas was standing and stood in front of him, facing him down. "Listen to me, Lucas Scott," she said firmly. "Don't let your grief push the people that you love away. We need to stay strong and stay together. Now more than ever."

"Why couldn't you stop him?" Lucas said quietly, not meeting her gaze. "Why couldn't you save Keith? You got there just in time to see the shooting, Susan, but why couldn't you use your power to stop the bullet?"

Susan took a deep breath. She had asked herself the same question every day and she knew perfectly well that she had tried to stop the bullet. If she could do anything to get there just a few minutes sooner, then she would have. Even a few seconds might have saved her uncle. "I tried, Lucas," she said now. "But I was in the hallway and my power doesn't work outside the room I'm in, remember?"

Lucas shook his head, not saying anything, and turned away from her. Before either one of them could say anything else, Nathan entered the attic, Haley trailing behind them. Both of them, Susan was relieved to see, were fully clothed.

"Hey, Sue, when did you get here?" he asked, looking between Susan's passive expression and Lucas's anguished one. "What's going on up here?" His eyes caught the Book of Shadows, still laying where Lucas had left it on the table, and the lit candles.

"Nothing," Lucas muttered, walking out of the attic. "I'm gonna go get ready; we have to leave in an hour, right?"

"About forty minutes, actually," Haley told him as the door closed behind the eldest Scott sibling. She and Nathan looked around at Susan, who was still watching where Lucas had left. "So what was going on up here?"

Susan sighed, blowing out the candles and shutting the Book gently. "He was trying to bring Keith back," she answered truthfully. It was the best explanation she could come up with. She really didn't want to get into what Lucas had said to her.

Nathan let out a deep sigh. "You think he's going to be okay?" he wanted to know, looking between the two girls. "I mean, this is going to tear him apart."

"I'm really worried about him," Haley whispered softly. She cleared her throat, looking at her feet for a minute before returning her gaze towards Susan. "Is Shawn going to be coming to the funeral?"

The second-born Charmed One nodded, blue-green eyes brightening slightly at the mention of the Whitelighter. At least she got to have a bit of happiness, Haley thought with a small smile. It was going to be rare these next couple of weeks.

"Yeah, he's going to be meeting us there," she answered, walking out of the attic. "He had to go help a charge first thing this morning, though, a future Whitelighter."

Nathan glanced around at Karen as she came out of the bedroom and walked across the hall to the bathroom, not even taking notice of the three teenagers. She looked so defeated, as though she were barely hanging on to living.

"We've got to stay strong for them," Haley whispered, slipping her arm around Nathan's. "They need us right now."

"Everything is going to change now, Haley," Nathan replied in a monotone voice. "Everything . . ."

--

Lucas stared down at the kitchen table as he thought about the conversation that he'd had with Susan upstairs. Even to him, his own words sounded harsh, too harsh to be saying to his baby sister. He knew that she loved Keith, loved him as a daughter to a father. And Keith had loved her as much as he had loved Lucas and Nathan. It wasn't fair just to throw the fact that she hadn't been here up until a few weeks ago in her face. She hadn't even know about him and Nate until her mom had died.

"Luke?"

Looking around, he saw Brooke standing in the doorway, dressed up for the funeral. She looked as though she hadn't slept all night, which, now that he thought about it, neither had he. "Hey, Brooke," he said quietly.

Setting her coat down on a chair, she walked over to him, staring down at Lucas's grief-sticken face. "Hey, boyfriend, what happened?" she wanted to know. "I mean, you look like something bigger just happened than what already has."

Lucas shook his head. "I sort of kind of went off on Susan," he muttered. "Told her that she didn't love Keith, didn't even know him. Oh, man, I really lost it on her. Shouldn't have said that."

"She'll forgive you," Brooke told him simply. "Lucas, Susan loves you so much and doesn't want to lose you as her big brother. Trust me, I should know." She grinned at Lucas, who smiled ruefully back. "I'm a telepath. Just make it up to her somehow."

Managing a weak laugh, Lucas shook his head. "I love you, Brooke," he said, pulling her into his lap. "Thanks for coming here today; means a lot."

Brooke smiled. "I wouldn't have not come for anything," she told him softly. "He was a great guy, Luke, one of the best people that I know. A lot of people loved Keith; he's going to be missed around here and not just by the Scott family."

"Save for one," Lucas said softly, his thoughts flashing to his father. Anger surged through him and Brooke seemed to notice the change in him.

"There's nothing more that you can do about Dan," she told him. "He's in jail; he's not going to hurt anybody anymore. Killing Keith means he's going to be spending a lot of quality time in jail."

Lucas only looked at her. "But for how long?" he demanded. "Dan's a witch too; who knows what he's capable of? He might use his powers to escape from there."

"And go where?" Brooke asked incredulously. "Dan likes the rich life, Lucas, he won't survive for very long with a trail of police on him, picking up every move that he makes. He'd have to go underground."

"And I wouldn't put that past him," Lucas pointed out quietly. "He killed his brother, Brooke, and I doubt that it's the first time that he's killed someone or at least been responsible for their death. Who knows how many deaths were caused by him?"


	20. Dan's Escape

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twenty: Dan's Escape

Funerals were depressing, Susan thought as they drove home from the wake. She'd always hated them, even when she was a kid and didn't understand that death was permanent. Her mom had told her that funerals were meant to say goodbye to your loved one. But it never had been for Susan. It was just a reminder that she was never going to see them again.

At her mother's funeral, Susan hadn't been able to go through the ceremony without crying as though she weren't going to stop.

Now at her Uncle Keith's, she couldn't even focus on what the reverend was saying. She could only stare at the casket that held her uncle, at Lucas's anguished face, at Nathan's grief, at Karen's pain.

Shawn had showed up just when the service was about to start. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said quickly to her, wrapping her into a hug. "I lost track of the time."

"It's okay," she told him. "I was just starting to get worried about you, that's all." He smiled at that, kissed her on the forehead and headed into the room with her.

It wasn't until the wake at Karen's house that Susan soon realised that their grief was about to be put on hold and their Charmed destiny was about to take control again. Susan and Shawn had been talking to Mouth when an inspector came into the house.

"Miss Susan Scott?" he asked, glancing down at her for a minute. When she nodded in affirmation, he held out his hand. "I'm Inspector Anderson from the Tree Hill Police Department. If I may, I would like to have a minute with you and your brothers."

"What is this regarding?" Shawn asked at once, his hand tightening around Susan's shoulders. She leaned against him, grateful for the comfort.

"That's between Miss Scott, her brothers, and myself," Anderson told him coldly, glaring at the Whitelighter. His eyes returned to Susan, who stared back at him.

"Shawn, it's okay," she said quietly. "Could you go find Luke and Nate for me?" Please don't make a scene, she begged silently. Just let us figure out what's going on fast.

Her boyfriend pierced his lips, still glaring at the inspector, and went off in a direction to find her brothers. When she returned her attention to Anderson, she asked, "Can I inquire as to why whatever you need to talk about with me and my brothers had to be discussed now? Couldn't it wait?"

"Unfortunately, no," Anderson said just as Lucas and Nathan appeared with Shawn. "I was wondering if the three of you might have any idea of where your father might be."

"I would assume he'd be in jail," Nathan said, dark blue eyes looking at the inspector. "Considering that he killed our uncle. Doesn't that mean a life sentence or something?"

"Not quite that long, but a long time, yes," Anderson said. Shawn moved to Susan side again, listening carefully. The inspector's eyes flickered to him, but since none of the siblings made any protests, he didn't say anything. "Which is why I'm here. Your father's jail cell was found empty this morning, the door melted through, as if by fire. Scorch marks everywhere, the bed burnt through. Not to mention, the guard on duty was found dead. Not sure what hit him, but it certainly wasn't anything natural."

Susan looked at her brothers in agitation, but Nathan had his jaw line set and Lucas's face was fixed with a mixture of anger ad fear. Certainly wasn't anything natural indeed! It sounded to Susan more along the lines of the supernatural.

"How is that possible?" she finally asked.

"That's what I would like to know," Anderson said, his gaze flickering between the three siblings. He had noticed the way that Susan had looked at them and the way that Lucas's hands kept moving open and closed. "Tell me where I might find your father."

"We don't know any more than you do right now, Inspector." Nathan was the first to speak. "But believe me," he added, stepping closer to him, "we will inform you the minute that we do hear something."

Anderson's eyes narrowed and his mouth firmed slightly. But all he did was give a short nod, fishing a card out of his pocket, handing it to Nathan. "I'll be waiting for your call," he said simply. Without another word, he walked away, leaving Shawn and the three siblings standing flabbergasted in the kitchen.

"Family meeting," Nathan said quietly, heading off to go find Haley and Brooke. Lucas looked towards his sister, who looked back steadily.

"This can't be happening," he muttered, running a hand through his short blond hair.

Susan sighed before looking towards Shawn. He looked about as worried as she felt. "Do They know anything about any of this?" she wanted to know, inclining her head indicatively towards the heavens, making it all too clear which "They" she meant.

"None that They're sharing," Shawn answered as they headed into Lucas's room, closing the door behind them. Lucas dropped onto his bed, putting his hand into his hands. "The guy's got real nerve, though, showing up today of all days. Like you need this today."

The door opened again and Nathan came in, followed by Haley and Brooke. "Please tell me that my husband is rearing his dark sense of humour," Haley said at once, placing her hands on her hips. "Dan did not escape from prison."

"Apparently with some help," Lucas said dully. Then he looked around at the two Whitelighters. "I still don't get why Dan would do something like this. He always hated Keith, but kill him? It just seems . . . out of place. There's something more than what he's saying."

Susan noticed the way that her boyfriend bit his lip, looking away from the others quickly. "What?" she asked. "What do you know?"

"Nothing," Shawn said hastily. She folded her arms, glaring at him. "Well, it's just that—there have been rumours Up There over the past seventeen years that . . . Dan isn't using his powers for good. Some Whitelighters have gone so far as to say that he's working for demonic forces. All I really know for sure is that he has relinquished his right to a Whitelighter."

Susan shook her head. "Couldn't he do that if he stopped using his powers altogether or bound his powers?" she asked.

"Yeah, that would terminate his Whitelighter rights," Shawn agreed, nodding. "But Dan's obsessed with power, you know that. Trying to control Nathan, trying to get Whitey fired, running for mayor when that didn't work about and doing just about anything to stop Karen from winning the election. Why would he give up his powers, when they're a sign of one of the most powerful magical lines in history?"

Susan looked up at Shawn, trying to come up with an answer, but found none. "He's working for the demonic world," she said, mulling this over. "But what is he after? What does Keith have to do with this?"

But none of the siblings, nor the Whitelighters, nor the telepath had any answers to this.

--

"Sir, we have to stop this!" the demon protested as Dan tossed aside some of the files at his mayoral office. "If they find us here, then they will just arrest you again—and then me for breaking you out! We've risked exposing the demonic world enough as it is! Let's just get underground before somebody sees us!"

Dan only shrugged. "The police are no threat to me," he said coolly without facing the demon. "It's that daughter of mine and her two brothers that are more dangerous. She's going to regret that she ever exposed me as Keith's murderer."

"Listen to me, Mr. Scott," the demon said urgently. "We cannot stop them! They are too powerful to take on, sir! By now, they'll have found out that you have escaped and will come after us. They will not have their uncle's killer running free!"

"Exactly," Dan replied, finally turning to acknowledge him. "Which means they'll come running after me blindly, without so much as a plan. The Charmed Ones will never be more vulnerable than they are right now. They've lost their uncle; Lucas has lost his surrogate father. Which means that he'll more than likely be questioning his duty as a Charmed One. And it will sever his faith in the Power of Three. Now is the perfect time to attack his sister."

"And what about her lover? The Whitelighter has returned to the sister; she'll have an in-house healer."

"We'll simply have to take her somewhere where he won't be able to sense her location. And there's only one place that he can't sense her." The demon's eyes widened at Dan's words and he grinned maliciously. "That's right; we'll take young Miss Dawson into the Underworld. And kill her before her precious lover and brothers have the chance to rescue her."

--

**Author's Note:** Hey, guys, sorry it took so long for the update. It's been crazy around here. Okay, so some people have been asking if the sisters are going to be entering in the story as cousins or something. And the answer is no, they won't be in the story because eventually I'm going to try and bring Wyatt and Chris into the story. The only way that the sisters are possibly going to be in it is if I decide to send one of the siblings into an alternate reality. Which is not really in my plans at this point. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I'll try and update sooner.

Lady Dawson


	21. Kidnapping

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twenty-one: Kidnapping

Susan opened another door of the beach house, but there was no one there. Stepping into the bedroom, she searched through the drawers, hoping that there was something—anything—that might help in trying to find her father.

After a half-hour of searching to no avail, Susan left the bedroom, nearly crashing into Nathan, who had been coming to find her. "Anything?" he asked hopefully. When she shook her head, his face twisted into a look of disappointment. "Great. I cannot believe this. You know, I thought that even Dan wouldn't want to risk exposure. How is blasting his way out of jail not asking for exposure?"

"You know, it's just now occurring to me," Susan said as they made their way into the kitchen. "When we actually do find Dan, how are we going to get him back to jail? He's sure not going to go willingly, you know. Not to mention, he'll probably just get out the same way that he did the first time."

"Yeah, I thought about that," Nathan muttered as he sat down in one of the chairs. "I figured that we might just bind his powers or something. That way he can't use them to escape and we can get the police to arrest him without much trouble."

Staring at her brother, Susan shook her head. "You mean use our magic against him when he won't have his," she said. Nathan made a face and made a noncommittal shrug. "Look, as much as that sounds like a good plan, we cannot use our powers against someone who can't defend himself. If we strip him of his powers, then we have to take him back to prison the mortal way. No magic."

"He's not exactly an Innocent, Sue," Nathan pointed out quietly. "And anyway, not using our powers against him might let him escape and he'll find a way to unbind his powers out of jail. Probably from some of his demon friends." He paused, frowning. "It sounds really weird to think that Dan has demonic connections, you know. You think that it was him who threw that athame at you the night the Lover Demon attacked?"

Susan shrugged. "I don't know anything for certain, Nate, but it'd explain why the athame had the Triquetra on it, though," she said slowly. "I mean, that's our symbol. It stands for us, the Charmed Ones, the Power of Three. But personally, I wouldn't put it past him to try and kill me. It's like Lucas said, who knows how many murders he's actually responsible for."

With a sigh, Nathan got to his feet, heading towards another one of the bedroom. "All right, well, there's one more room that we haven't checked and then we can go. Shouldn't take long."

As Nathan vanished into the room, Susan heard the sound of someone shimmering in. Before she could turn around, a hand clamped onto her mouth, preventing her from shouting for Nathan and a knife pressed against her throat. "I don't think so, witch," the demon said quietly. "Your father awaits your presence."

"HEY!"

The demon looked up as Nathan came running out of the bedroom, his hands curling into fists, prepared to attack. Letting go of Susan's mouth, the demon grabbed her hands and locking them in his arm. Unable to freeze the demon without the use of her hands, Susan could only watch helplessly as Nathan shimmered out of view and she landed in some kind of cave.

"We meet again, Susan," a dangerously familiar voice spoke up. Whirling around, Susan came face-to-face with her father as he stepped in from the shadows, his face twisted in an expression of utter triumph. But before Susan could say anything, Dan attacked with bolts of lightning, which hit her in the stomach and she slipped into a deep, black abyss. (AN: Kind of like how future Phoebe did in "Morality Bites.")

--

"What do you mean, Susan was kidnapped?" Lucas half-shouted at Nathan, who flinched at the harsh tone his brother was using. The minute that Susan had been kidnapped, he had called for Haley who had orbed them to the house. While Nathan had looked through the Book of Shadows for the demon that had taken his sister, Haley had gone to get Lucas and Shawn.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Nathan said with a sigh. "Look, we were over at the beach house trying to find some stuff on Dan when the demon suddenly came and took her. He shimmered away the moment I got there, Luke, there wasn't much I could do."

"Why is she still with the demons, though?" Haley asked. "Why hasn't she orbed out of there?"

Shawn sighed from where he was standing by the window, trying to sense Susan. "Maybe she can't," he said as he turned back towards them. "But I can't sense her anywhere, which means that she isn't anywhere on Earth anymore. That only leaves one place: the Underworld."

Nathan and Lucas looked around, confused, at him. "It's where the demons hide out at," Haley explained to the two brothers. "But the bigger question is, how did they know that Susan would be at the beach house? And how did they know to take her away to somewhere where we can't sense her? They would have to have known that she has two in-house healers. How would they know that?"

"It's Dan." The other four turned around to look at Nathan. "Dan's sent demons to kidnap her and bring her to him. Probably to get revenge on her for outing him as Keith's murderer. And he's probably going to do the same thing that he did to Keith."

Lucas had turned white at Nathan's statement. "We can't lose her, you guys," he whispered. "I cannot lose another member of my family. Especially so soon after . . ." His voice trembled slightly and he shook his head, blinking back tears. "I don't think that I'll survive it."

"Don't worry, Luke, we'll find her," Nathan said firmly. "Come on, big brother, stop brooding around and help us here. Because we can't do this without you. If we're going to save Susan, then we're going to have to do it together."

The eldest Charmed One looked at his little brother, seeing the determination in his eyes. Slowly, he nodded, joining Nathan by the Book of Shadows. "All right, what did he look like? The demon?"

Nathan frowned, scrunching up his face in concentration. "He looked . . . normal," he said finally. "Pretty much human, except for the fact that he had eyes that were as red as blood with talons for fingers. That sound familiar to either one of you?" he asked the Whitelighters.

Shawn and Haley shook their heads and Lucas let out a frustrated groan. "Great, so we have absolutely nothing to go on and no way to find Susan," he said. "Dan is going to kill her before we even find out where she's at."

Without warning, the pages in the Book suddenly flipped open. Lucas jumped back in shock and Nathan let out a surprised cry. "What the heck . . .?" Lucas whispered as the pages stopped flipping.

He recognised the spell immediately because he had used it a couple of days ago. The spell to call a lost witch.

"How is this going to help?" Nathan demanded, looking incredulous. "I mean, even if we did cast it, we'd be no closer to finding Dan and he'd just try again to kidnap and kill Susan."

"So don't call Susan," Shawn said quietly as he looked down at the spell. "Reverse the spell so that you're summoning yourselves to Susan, to wherever she's at. It should take you right to her. And Dan."


	22. Visions of the Future

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twenty-two: Visions of the Future

Susan literally ached all over, as though she had been running for miles without stopping and it hurt to breathe. What had happened? Where was she? And—where was Nathan? There were voices near her, but she couldn't make out what they were saying . . . they were beyond her range to hear . . . but at the same time they were near enough that she could sense their presence . . .

Struggling to open her eyes, Susan found herself in a cave that seemed familiar, but there was no one else around. As she stared at her surroundings, it all came back to her. The demon taking her underground, her father attacking her . . .

Getting to her feet, Susan looked around, trying to figure out what to do. "Susan," a voice spoke up and she looked towards the speaker. A brilliant white light appeared at the edge of the cave and a figure was walking through it towards her.

As she got a glimpse of the figure, she nearly passed out again, this time due to shock. "Uncle Keith?" she gasped, staggering against the wall. It couldn't be him . . . it couldn't possibly be him . . . but how could it not be? "Is that really you?"

Her uncle grinned slightly and nodded once at her. "Yeah, it's really me, Susie-girl," he said softly. He reached for her hand and helped her onto her unsteady feet.

Continuing to stare at him, Susan shook her head, not understanding any of this. "But . . . Keith, how is this possible?" she wanted to know, apprehension rising through her. Then a thought struck her, one that would certainly explain everything. "Am I dead?" She stared at the ghostly form of her uncle for explanations.

Keith laughed. "No, no, not yet," he assured her. "Though Dan tried to make that so. We are going to fix that, though. You're going to be going back to Luke and Nate very soon, but first there's something that you need to see, for all of your sakes." Still holding on to her arm, Keith started to walk towards the light, with her in tow.

"Where are we going?" Susan wanted to know, frowning slightly. But she didn't stop him; she trusted Keith and believed that he would not put her in deliberate danger.

"Susan, the three of you have started to question your destiny, Lucas most especially," Keith explained. "Not that I blame you guys; anyone would do that, considering the circumstances. But the point is that it has shaken the Power of Three. Now tell me, what questions you the most about your destiny? Your future?"

Her heart hammering in her heart, Susan shook her head, blinking back tears. "That we're all going to leave our loved ones behind, like you left Karen and Mom left me," she whispered. "That if I ever do get married and have kids, I'm just going to leave them the same way I was left. I'm questioning my own future. I'm questioning us continuing to live until our kids are old enough to take over our destiny." She found she couldn't hold her uncle's gaze any longer and looked away, wiping away the unshed tears.

"Fair enough worries," Keith said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But I think that worrying about the future is Nathan's job." Susan let out a half-sob, half-laugh at this statement and Keith smiled. "Come on, Susan, give me your hand. I'd say that Lucas and Nathan are worrying about the same thing and I need to show you that you're going to have a future. Trust me on that."

Before Susan could ask what he meant, the white lights blinded her and then it vanished and a scene appeared before her. They were back in Nathan's house, but the children there were not the Charmed Ones, nor any children that Susan had ever seen before in her life, though they seemed vaguely familiar to her, as though she had seen them before. As if from a dream . . .

There were two girls over by the television, playing on the PlayStation, both with long blonde hair, their conversation overlapped by the sounds of the television. Sitting at the table with their books spread out working on homework was two boys, one with dark hair and one with blond, and another girl, only this one had dark brown hair, the same shade as Haley's was from pictures that Susan had seen of a few years previously. (AN: the colour of Haley's hair back in Season One.)

"Aunt Susie!" one of the girls called as she spotted Susan and Keith standing in the foyer. She bore such a remarkable resemblance to Lucas that it created no doubt in Susan's mind who the father of this little girl was. "Peyton is picking on me!"

"Am not!" said another girl. She looked as though she could be the first girl's sister, but her dark eyes were in the exact image of Brooke's. Lucas and Brooke's daughters . . . "Penelope's lying!"

As the two girls bickered, an older Lucas walked into the room, pulling a jacket on as he did so. "Hey, girls, stop fighting, all right?" he told them. Then he looked over at Susan, who was staring in amazement at the scene in front of her. "I swear, those two are going to end up killing each other one day. You going to be all right taking care of the kids while I take Brooke to the doctor? Nathan should be here in a little while to help out."

"Doctor?" Susan echoed, not sure if she had heard him right. "What doctor? Is she okay?"

"I'm sure she's fine," Lucas said reassuringly. "We just wanted to make sure your and Nate's little niece is doing okay, remember?" He grinned at her and headed out the door. "I'll call later to check up and see how everything's going."

Susan looked back to Lucas, but he had already left the house, leaving her with the future generation of Scotts. Before she could process this, she felt someone wrapping their arms around her waist.

Looking down, she saw the dark haired little boy looking up at her, his blue-green eyes in the exact image of hers looking up at her. "Mommy," he said, looking at her with imploring eyes. "Can you help me with my homework? I can't seem to figure it out and Wyatt's helping Melinda."

Staring at the little boy, it took Susan a minute to process the word "Mommy" and realise that he was addressing her when he said that. This, along with his blue-green eyes and dark hair, the same colour as her own, was enough for her to suspect of the identity of this little boy. Her son. This was her son, or the son she was going to have.

Glancing sideways at her uncle, Susan raised a questioning eyebrow and he smiled and gave a small nod. Her suspicions confirmed, Susan knelt down beside her son and smiled at him. "Sure, I'll help you," she said and he grinned happily, making her eyes start to leak with tears of happiness. "Just give me a minute, sweetheart, okay?"

Her son cocked an eyebrow, his fingers touching the tears and brushing them away. "What's wrong, Mommy?" he asked, his childish voice concerned. "Why you crying?"

Susan smiled as she pushed the tears away. "Sometimes people cry when they're happy, honey," she explained. "The tears sometimes can come from happiness, not sadness." She smiled at him. "Go on, sweetheart, I'll be there in a minute."

Smiling broadly, her son headed back to his . . . well, his cousins, Susan suspected, for the boy bore such a remarkable resemblance to Nathan, though his hair was just as blond as Deb's. And the dark haired girl was made in the exact image of Haley, making it all too clear in Susan's mind who the two children's parents were.

"Chris, stop getting up and down!" the other boy—Wyatt—said loudly, looking irritated. "I'm trying to help Mel!"

Susan smiled ruefully, realising that Wyatt was speaking to her son. Chris, that was his name. Christopher, after her Grandfather Dawson. "Keith, whose the father?" she whispered softly, looking towards her uncle.

But her uncle only smiled at her. "I think that you already know the answer to that," he said softly. "Even without the Warren gift of premonitions." Susan laughed, knowing he was right. She knew who Chris's father was. "Susan, don't question your destiny or your future. Everything always turns out all right in the end, you'll see. Don't be afraid to live your life. Just live your life as best as you can. And make your future and destiny as beautiful as you can." With a smile and a small sniffle, Susan nodded, tears clouding her vision. "And I think you're ready to go back. Don't give up, Susan. Even in the darkest of times, your mom and I are always with you three. You guys will never truly be alone because we'll always be watching over you."

Tears sparkled in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her uncle, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "Goodbye, Keith," she whispered. "I love you."

Keith smiled at her and then there was a bright light, surrounding her and engulfing her into it and then the scene in front of her vanished, taking her back into the cave. But this time, she wasn't alone.

She was back with her father and his demon friend. And they were waiting for her to awaken.


	23. A Father's Demise

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twenty-three: A Father's Demise

"You half-Whitelighter brat," Dan snarled as Susan scrambled to her feet, ready to battle both of them. "Don't you ever die?" His eyes were blazing with a mixture of anger and fury when he focused them on his reserved daughter. "This is the third time that I've tried to kill you."

"Well, you know what, Dan?" Susan said, composed. "You should never underestimate a Charmed One. Because we are protected by good magic and it will always protect us. Good will always triumph over evil." Dan opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "But there's still something that I don't understand. Why kill me? What did I ever do to gain myself such an enemy as my own father?"

Dan smirked at her. "It's not my daughter that I'm so determined to kill, Susan," he remarked. "It's the Charmed Ones. You see, I was assigned to stop the Charmed Ones from ever forming. That was why I made sure that Nathan never considered Lucas his brother. Your angel of a sister-in-law had to go and intervene there and turn him against me and put the brothers together, though, didn't she? Of course, my hopes were raised once again when Haley left and put the brothers' relationship in jeopardy. But she had to come back to Tree Hill and with it Nathan and Lucas's relationship was reforged. So when it was clear that they were going to regain their brotherly connection, I had to stop the Charmed Ones from ever forming. Which is where you came into play. You and your slut of a mother. Did you really think that the car accident was really an accident, Susan? Why do you think that the car that crashed into you hit your car so accurately and mysteriously vanished the moment that you hit the pole? I have some of my best demons working on that. You see, your mother's death was no accident. She was a regrettable sacrifice. But everyone must play their part and hers was to be sacrificed, along with you."

Susan had gone white by the time that he had finished this speech. "You're saying that Mom died because you wanted to kill me? That you were just trying to rid of me?"

"Naturally," Dan said, clearly enjoying her agitation. "You stupid Whitelighter, you just had to orb out of the car, didn't you? If I had anticipated that, I would've come after you myself. And you most certainly be dead. But no matter, I'll just kill you now."

"Mr. Scott, here is the crossbow that I managed to swipe from some Darklighters," the demon said, handing the black crossbow to Dan, who took it eagerly.

_Demons can't kill Whitelighters; we're all already dead. Only a Darklighter can kill a Whitelighter,_ Shawn's voice spoke in her mind from the night that the Lovers' Demon had attacked them. A Darklighter crossbow . . . and Susan was half-Whitelighter. They were going to try and kill the half of her that was vulnerable to Darklighters arrows. Her mother's half . . . Susan's Whitelighter half . . .

"Well, Miss Dawson," Dan said, smirking at her. "It's been a pleasure." She noted the fact that he refused to acknowledge her as a Scott. In his eyes, she would never be a Scott, only a Dawson.

_But I'm not, _she thought silently. _I'm not a Scott and I'm not a Dawson . . . I'm both. _She had to stop him, somehow. She had to get out of this. Not just for herself and saving her brothers from the grief of losing another family, but for the future of her family . . . for her son.

Her thoughts on her handsome son that she had seen in the future, Susan stood her ground as Dan aimed the crossbow at her, directly at her heart. "You're not demon enough to kill me, Dan," she told him, smiling casually at him. "You never will be. And you are never going to stop the Charmed Ones."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Dan replied, still aiming the crossbow at her. "Because this is goodbye. Oh, by the way, say hello to Keith for me." He fired the arrow at Susan, who froze it in mid-air, along with the demon. Unfortunately, she couldn't freeze her father because it was him from whom she had received her witch powers.

Dan barred his teeth at her and swore aloud, but Susan was already starting to come up with a plan. She needed a spell and a powerful one at that. Her father might not be able to stop the Charmed Ones, but that didn't mean that he wasn't a powerful witch. In order to stop him, she needed the powers of the entire Warren line . . . past and future.

Thinking of a spell in her mind from everything that Keith had shown her and what she knew of her family's legacy, Susan began to chant, "_Keith, Melinda, Charlotte, Peyton, Penelope, Wyatt, Christopher. Past and future members of the Warren line, hear my call. So that our lineage does not fall. Destroy this witch that we face, throughout time and space._"

To Susan's dismay, nothing happened. What had gone wrong? she thought desperately as she faced her father alone. But she knew what had happened: they needed the Power of Three. It was the only chance of stopping Dan. But unfortunately, she didn't have the Power of Three with her and by the time that her brothers got here, it might already be too late. She couldn't hold off Dan forever.

Dan laughed at her failed spell. "If that's the best that you got, Susan, this fight is over," he told her, tossing aside the crossbow. He raised his hands and was about to attack her with the lightning, like he had before.

But before he could even power up an attack, he was thrown sideways, away from Susan. The second-born Charmed One looked towards her dazed father towards the two witches who had appeared in the cave, in a shimmer of lights.

"Well, it's about time!" she exclaimed as the elder of the two rushed towards her and making sure that she wasn't injured. "I was wondering when you guys were going to get here."

"Oh, quit your griping," Nathan grumbled as he joined her and Lucas. "We weren't the ones who got ourselves kidnapped, now are we?"

"Let's worry about assigning blame later," Lucas said hurriedly as he assured himself that Susan was uninjured and noted that Dan was getting to his feet. "We've got bigger problems to worry about."

"Nice aim, Lucas," Dan told him, rubbing the back of his head as he walked towards the three siblings. "I see that it's gotten better since the last battle you were in." Lucas's jaw tightened, but he didn't reply. "Now, what are you going to do? Just walk away? Convince me to return to jail? Because I can assure you that isn't going to happen."

Nathan crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at his depraved father. "Yeah, Dan, we kind of figured that one out for ourselves, believe it or not," he told him. "Which is why this little stunt of yours ends today. It's your or us this time."

Dan started laughing, his laughter echoing in the cave, but then he realised that his younger son was serious. "You're going to try and kill your old man, Nathan?" he asked, all amusement gone now. "And you, Lucas? You're going with this? I would've thought your beloved uncle taught you better than that."

"You're not our old man, Dan," Lucas told him, his voice as cold as the bristliest of winters. "Only the man who fathered us. Because we had a father, you see. And his name was Keith Scott."

"Anybody got a Power of Three spell?" Nathan muttered in an undertone as Dan powered up an attack, attempting to knock out all three of them. "Because we need one, like now."

"I've got one," Susan said, the spell she'd created a few moments previously still memorised. "But I can't believe you guys came barrelling in here without some kind of plan."

Nathan opened his mouth to reply, but Dan launched his first attack on them and Lucas yanked them down out of harm's way. "Start the spell, fast!" Lucas yelled at his sister.

Knowing that time was precious, Susan immediately started chanting. "_Keith, Melinda, Charlotte, Peyton, Penelope, Wyatt, Christopher. Past and future members of the Warren line, hear our call. So that our lineage does not fall. Destroy this witch that we face, throughout time and space._"

A ring of fire encircled Dan, though he took no notice of it, lightning still erupting from his hands. "Say it again, together this time!" Nathan yelled, enthralled by the spell's effect, though he didn't know how his sister had come up with such a spell so fast. "It's working!"

Together, the siblings chanted, "_Keith, Melinda, Charlotte, Peyton, Penelope, Wyatt, Christopher. Past and future members of the Warren line, hear our call. So that our lineage does not fall. Destroy this witch that we face, throughout time and space._"

The circle raised high enough to cover Dan's entire bottom half. This time Dan took notice of it and made a futile attempt to put it out, sputtering a mixture of spells and curses.

"One more time!" Lucas yelled. However Susan had come up with the spell, he wasn't going to challenge it, because it had the desired effect. But he was definitely going to question her about it later. If there was a later. He met his father's gaze coldly. "This one's for Keith," he told him.

"_Keith, Melinda, Charlotte, Peyton, Penelope, Wyatt, Christopher. Past and future members of the Warren line, hear our call. So that our lineage does not fall. Destroy this witch that we face, throughout time and space._"

The circle of fire raised up and engulfed Dan Scott entirely before exploding, sending the three siblings flying backwards into the wall. When Susan looked up, Dan Scott, the Charmed Ones' biological father, Keith's brother and murderer, was gone. And so was the demon that had accompanied him, apparently taken out by the force of the blast.

Keith's death had been avenged. They were free.

--

Shawn looked up around at them the minute that they entered the living room, returned from the hearing of the disappearance of Dan Scott. "Hey, you guys," he said, kissing Susan before looking around at the other two. "How'd the hearing go?"

"Oh, well, pretty much as we expected," Nathan answered, shrugging. "I told them what I knew, Luke told them what he knew, and Sue told them what she knew. No big deal. They're still mystified on how Dan escaped, but there wasn't anything that Anderson could really pin on us, though I'm pretty sure that he's going to keep an eye on us."

"He knows that we're hiding something about Dan," Lucas agreed once he and Nathan had taken their seats across from Shawn and Susan, who was sitting on the armchair of Shawn's seat, her arm resting on the back of the armchair. "We haven't seen the last of him. But what did he expect us to say, really? Demons set our father loose and he kidnapped our sister and we had to vanquish him?"

Susan smiled and shook her head. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about Dan being after us anymore. We've seen the last of him, haven't we?" she added, looking at Shawn.

"I think that's a safe bet, based on how the Elders are reacting," he agreed. "But speaking of Dan, you never did say what happened down there and how you came up with that spell that vanquished him."

"Yeah, I was going to ask you about that one," Lucas said, looking around at his sister. "How did you come up with that spell? It called for members of the Warren line in the past and future. How would we know about the future generations of Warren witches?"

When she looked at him and saw the looks in all three of the guys' eyes, she knew that they weren't going to let up until she told them. Oh, well, she knew that she wouldn't be able to avoid it forever. Not that she wanted to, anyway. "Well, I kind of, sort of, went to the future with Keith. He took me there when I was . . . knocked out or dead or whatever I was."

"You saw Keith?" Lucas demanded, looking incredulous.

"You went to the future?" Nathan asked, his eyes widened with disbelief. "That is not fair. My power is focused on the future, I should've gone." He was sticking out his lower lip and pouting. Susan and Lucas couldn't help laughing and after a minute their little brother joined in. "Seriously, though, Susan, what did you see?"

Pausing for dramatic effect, Susan answered, "Keith said that we were starting to question our future and destiny, which I know that I have, now that Mom and Keith are gone. I guess that I've just been afraid that we're going to end up like them, leaving our loved ones to mourn us. So he took me to see that our future is going to be beautiful and worth protecting. I saw our children, or the children we're going to have. The future of the Charmed line, the Warren line."

"We're going to have kids?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows. "Haley and me?"

Susan nodded, grinning broadly. "Yeah, you guys have a little boy, Wyatt, and a daughter, Melinda," she answered. "And Wyatt looked like he was the oldest one of the group, so I guess the youngest was not only the first to get married, but also the first to reproduce."  
Lucas snorted, but when Susan's attention turned to him, blue-green eyes alight with a teasing tone, his laughter ceased. "As for you, big brother, you're going to have two little girls, Peyton and Penelope," she told him, then frowned. "Wait, scratch that, I mean three daughters, because Brooke was pregnant in this future."

"Wait, you mean he's gonna get married to Brooke?" Nathan said, howling with laughter. "Oh, boy, I'm gonna be related to Brooke Davis? Wait, correction, Brooke Scott, as she will be known." Lucas rolled his eyes, seized a pillow, and threw it at Nathan. When he tossed the pillow back to Lucas, Nathan looked towards Susan. "Well, what about you, Sue? You said that you saw all of our kids, so did you see yours? Because any little girl of yours is definitely going to be cute. I mean, considering that she will have such a hot uncle as me."

Susan looked towards her elder brother. "Luke, hit him again," she requested and Lucas obliged. Nathan hit Lucas back and Susan shook her head. "Actually, you're not going to have a niece. At least, not by me. I have a little boy. Chris, actually. After my grandfather."

"Really?" Shawn asked and she nodded, smiling at him. "Well, whose the father of this child of yours?"

"Do you really need to ask me that?" she asked with a sly smile at him. Shawn blushed at the brothers' stares and shook his head. "But I wish you guys could've seen it because it was so wonderful."

"Sounds like," Nathan said wistfully. "Plus, it would've been nice to see Keith again. Or at least just to say goodbye."

"Well, I think you'll see him again, someday," Shawn said with a shrug. "I mean, you can summon ghosts back from the dead, but only in extreme need. But probably not for awhile, not until you've moved on with your life. Seeing Keith right now keeps him alive and keeps you from moving on with your lives," he explained, seeing their mystified looks. "Keith broke some pretty big rules Up There by coming to Susan like that."

"Well, yeah, but he did it for the right reasons," Susan pointed out. "He just wanted to help us to see that we have to protect the future and the present."

"Well, speaking of the present, I have to go meet Brooke; we've got a date," Lucas said, glancing down at his watch. "I'll see you guys later, all right?" He got to his feet and headed out the door to go meet pick up his future wife.

"Think that he's going to tell Brooke about their future daughters and the fact that they're apparently married?" Nathan wanted to know, raising his eyebrows towards Susan. She smiled and shrugged.

"Probably," she said simply.

Nathan smiled and shook his head. "All right, well, I'm gonna go try and find Haley and . . . practice my marital rights," he said, giving no doubt in either Whitelighter's mind what that meant as he headed upstairs.

"Ew," Susan muttered.


	24. Friday the Thirteenth

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twenty-four: Friday the Thirteenth

After the last attack, Susan reluctantly submitted to her brothers' persuasion and moved in with Nathan and Haley at the Scott manor. Having two of the Charmed Ones in the same household was better than having all of them spread out, but as Susan had pointed out on multiple occasions, it would be better if the Power of Three was under one roof. But neither of them were going to ask Lucas to move out of Karen's house, so they made do with what they had.

Susan walked into the kitchen, carrying the Book of Shadows, to find Haley mixing a brew in the mixer. "Jeez, what is that?" she wanted to know, waving away the smell away from her, sitting down on one of the chairs so that she could look through the Book more thoroughly.

"It's one of my grandmother's old recipes," Haley answered as she poured it into a cup. "Nathan's been wiped out after practice this past week so I'm hoping that this'll cure that."

Both of the Scott women looked up as Nathan entered the kitchen, looking exhausted. "Hey, you, we were just talking about you. Here." Haley handed the cup to Nathan, who took it gratefully. "This'll cure anything you've got-"

"Nathan, whatever you do, don't ask what's in it and don't smell it," Susan offered as Nathan swallowed the mixture whole. He instantly made a face but managed to get it down without spitting it out. Susan smiled and turned her attention towards her sister-in-law. "Hey, Hales, aren't you supposed to be Up There at that Whitelighter meeting that Shawn was going to early this morning?"

Haley sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm running a bit late," she admitted, grabbing her jacket off of the counter and kissing Nathan tenderly. Susan looked away pointedly until they pulled apart. "I'll see you guys later . . . or in a couple of days, whichever one comes first." She disappeared into a series of white orbs as she went Up There, wherever that was, leaving Susan and Nathan alone in the kitchen.

"I am wiped out," Nathan moaned as he half-collapsed onto one of the chairs. "If a demon attacked right now, he would have the advantage, because I would not be able to move."

Susan chuckled. "Well, speaking of demons, there's apparently one out on the loose, killing witches and all Whitelighter have been put on alert," she told him. "So if you run into any trouble today, then you had better call for Shawn, because this guy means business and he's pretty powerful. Killed two powerful witches already."

Nathan took another swig of the mixture. "Do the Elders have any idea who he is?"

"Nope," Susan answered with a sigh. "But that's why there's that big meeting this morning, they're going to try and figure out who it is." The two siblings were quiet for a minute before Susan glanced up at the clock. "Anyway, you're gonna be late, Nate. Didn't you say you had to be at school early for practice?"

The youngest Charmed One let out a whining noise as he got to his feet, stumbling off towards the door. "I'll see you later," he grumbled. When he was at the door, he suddenly turned towards his sister. "Hey, Susan, be careful today, all right?"

"Because of the demon?" Susan wanted to know, looking amusedly up at her brother. "I've got the power to freeze, remember?"

"No, actually, I meant because it's Friday the Thirteenth," Nathan reminded her, leaning against the doorframe. "And bad things always tend to happen to people more on Friday the Thirteenth than any other day. It's a known fact. And now that we're witches, I'd think that more things would happen on this day."

"Bad things happen to people on Friday the Thirteenth because people put energy into believing bad things will happen," Susan countered, looking down at the Book.

"Susan," Nathan sighed and she looked back up at him and saw the seriousness her brother was exhibiting. "Humour me, okay? Just watch your back. Especially with this demon on the loose."

His sister's expression softened and she nodded, touched by her brother's concern. "Fine, I will be careful," she told him. "I'll see you later; I'm just going to go through the Book and see if I can't find anything that'll help with the demon."

Nathan nodded. "See you later," he said as he left. Susan watched him go and flipped through the Book, hoping to find anything, but not really sure what exactly she was looking for.

Her hands flipped through the pages and suddenly she came across an entry with very familiar handwriting. As she stared at it, she realised just whose handwriting this belonged to and she began to read the entry on the demon, wondering if this had anything to do with the murders. "The Demon of Fear," she muttered, her forehead creasing in apprehension.

--

Later that day, Lucas was sitting in the courtyard, studying for his math quiz later that afternoon when a shadow passed over him. He shielded his eyes, looking up to find Inspector Anderson standing over him, his dark eyes focused on him.

"Mr. Scott," he remarked, smiling blandly at him. "I was hoping that I might be able to find you here."

"Well, seeing as how I go to school here, this would probably be a pretty good guess," Lucas told him, trying to keep his tone civil. He didn't know what it was about this guy, but he really didn't like him. "What can I do for you, Inspector?"

"You know, it's becoming obvious to me that you, your brother, and your sister are involved in . . . how shall I put this delicately? Unusual practices, I suppose is the best way to put it. There have been half a dozen murders since midnight; all of them were found with chalk white hair and their faces filled with terror. The coroner said they were literally scared to death. One of them was a bookshop owner and you and your sister was the last recorded customer, Mr. Scott."

Lucas blinked in surprise; Susan, Lucas, and Nathan had gone to an occult bookshop late last night, hoping to get some information on witchcraft than was just in the Book. They had managed to get a couple of books but the woman had been most eager to get them out of there and was even closing up shop as soon as they had left.

"Do you remember any suspicious characters hanging around when you were leaving?" Anderson was asking him.

Pulling his thoughts together, Lucas shook his head. "No, there wasn't anybody, Inspector," he told him, trying to think of anything odd that had been happening in that area last night. "In fact, she was closing up just when we were leaving."

"Visit occult shops at midnight often, Mr. Scott?" Anderson replied, a suspicious look crossing his face.

"Of course not," Lucas answered coldly. "I was getting some material for a paper that I'm working on. On the Salem witch trials," he added quickly, seeing the man's distrustful look. "And I wanted to put in what most witches actually practised. Thought I should go right to the source." He thought that his excuse sounded valid.

"If that's your story," Anderson said flatly. "It seems strange to me that your father escapes from prison and is nowhere to be found and then you seem to be involved in these new murders."

"What exactly are you implying, Inspector?" Lucas wanted to know, his heart starting to hammer in his chest due to panic. Did this guy somehow know about them? And if so, how?

"I'll have you know that I have friends in powerful places, Mr. Scott," Anderson warned him. "I know that you three are hiding something and if I find that you are involved in these murders, I'll be coming after you and your siblings."

"Shouldn't make threats here, Inspector," Peyton spoke up, appearing at Lucas's side. Relief surged through him as he looked towards the blonde artist before he returned his attention to Anderson. "Lucas, did he even bother reading you your rights?"

"No," Lucas replied, getting to his feet, grateful to get away.

"Then come on," she said, ignoring the glare that Anderson was throwing her. "You don't have to talk to him if you don't want to." Her smile towards the furious officer was less than warm as she pulled Lucas away from him. "Good day, Inspector."

Lucas gave a short nod to Anderson before following the artist away from him. "Thank you," he said as soon as they were out of hearing range of the officer.

"You looked trapped," Peyton responded with a wry smile. "Besides, Nathan was looking for you. He's in the library. Susan told him something about . . . you-know-what and he was looking freaked." She frowned as she looked at the eldest Charmed One. "You guys aren't in any danger, are you?"

"Peyton, we're in danger every minute of every day because of what we do," Lucas said dryly. "But not in any immediate danger that I know of, why?"

"Just asking," Peyton replied with a shrug. "I have to head off, so I'll see you later, all right?"

Lucas nodded as he and the artist parted ways and he headed towards the library to find his brother.

He found the youngest Scott sitting at one of the tables, studying, but he looked up as soon as Lucas sat down next to him. "Peyton said that you were looking for me," he told him.

"Yeah, Susan told me that there is some demon on the loose this morning before I left and I just wanted to make sure that you were all right," Nathan explained. He examined his brother closely, concern written in his face. "Are you?"

"Of course I am," Lucas said with a shrug. When Nathan gave him a disbelieving look, he sighed. "I just had another little talk with Inspector Anderson a few minutes ago. Apparently, he thinks that I'm somehow involved with these murders that are occurring."

Nathan shook his head. "Why would he think that?"

"Because the last one took place at a bookstore that we went to last night," Lucas told him with a sigh. Seeing the anxious look that crossed his brother's face, he added hastily, "But I just told him that I was doing research for a paper for school, that's all."

"Yeah, well, I doubt that we're going to be hearing the end of him," Nathan muttered, shaking his head. "All right, so Susan was looking for information on that demon before I left this morning so hopefully she'll have found some information on it and we can move on with our lives. For now, anyway."

"Well, does she have any idea what she's looking for?" Lucas wanted to know, arching a blond eyebrow. As much as he was worried that his mother might lose her only son during his Charmed duties, his pull to helping the Innocent was stronger.

Nathan sighed and shook his head. "Nope," he admitted. "But hopefully she'll have come across something in the Book. Any clue as to who might be behind this?"

"No," Lucas sighed, shaking his head. He looked tired, Nathan noted. "I don't. But the sooner that we figure this mystery out and carry out our Charmed duties, the sooner that I might be able to get back to helping my mother."

--

Neither of the brothers had the chance to talk to their sister until they were leaving that day. "Why is it that we never get the chance to talk unless we really need to?" Nathan wanted to know as they headed away from the school and towards the manor. "Did you find anything in the Book about this demon that we're after?"

"Yeah, actually, I did," she answered, looking towards them. "At least, I think that it's him. It was actually you who gave me the idea, Nate. It's the Demon of Fear."

"Lovers' Demon, Demon of Fear," Lucas muttered, shaking his head. "Can they come up with any weirder names?"

Susan chuckled and Nathan smirked. "Anyway, this guy appears once every 1,300 years on Friday the Thirteenth. If he kills thirteen unmarried witches by midnight tonight, then he'll be free from his eternity in the Underworld."

"Well, I guess that means that you're safe, Nathan," Lucas told his brother, who looked a bit relieved, yet worried at this predicament. "Did the Book say anything about how to get rid of him?"

"No, but here's the thing, Luke-" Susan hesitated, looking edgily at him, then plunged on. "The entry in the Book of Shadows, it was in Keith's handwriting."

"Keith's?" Lucas echoed hoarsely. The aftermath of his uncle's death was still with him and it still hurt to hear his name sometimes, even though they had avenged his death. "Wait, Susan, are you sure that it was his? Maybe it just looked like his."

Susan nodded. "Positive," she answered. "I checked it against some of his old letters that I found in the attic." She grinned wryly. "He really was in love with your mom for a long time, wasn't he?"

Nathan and Lucas couldn't help laughing, realising that she must have found some of the letters that Keith wrote to Karen during high school. Love letters that had never gotten mailed and he'd left at the house after he moved out.

"Well, Keith must have known that we would face this demon sometime during our lifetime and wanted to prepare us," Susan said, returning to the subject of the demon. "He kills by turning a witch's greatest fear against him or her and Keith wrote that in the face of our greatest fear, out powers are paralysed."

"Wait a minute, so we're defenceless against this demon?" Nathan asked incredulously. "That's not fair!"

"Did Keith say anything about how to get rid of him?" Lucas asked, looking at his sister. "A spell or a potion or something?"

"No," Susan answered with a disgruntled sigh. "There wasn't. He just wrote that we need to release our fear and he didn't say anything about how to do that."

"Great," Lucas muttered. "All right, so what is your greatest fear, anyway?" he asked Susan.

Susan sighed. "I don't know," she grumbled. "Being in a car accident, I suppose. It's how my mom died," she added, seeing Nathan's startled look. Lucas, on the other hand, remembered the night that they'd met, and what she'd told him about her mother.

"Okay, well, stay away from any car or automobile and you should be fine," Lucas instructed her before turning his attention towards the youngest Charmed One. "All right, Nathan, you should be fine, but just in case, what your greatest fear?"

"Um . . . losing Haley, I guess," Nathan said softly, casting a gaze overhead at the heavens, where both Haley and Shawn were at the Whitelighter meeting. "But she should be safe Up There and after midnight, he's done for, right?"

"She should be," Susan agreed. "Then again, what can he really do to her? She's already dead." She cast a look towards Lucas. "What about you, big brother? What are you afraid of?"

Lucas sighed. "Can't you guess?" he asked, glancing back at the school, where their uncle had died. Susan and Nathan looked at each other, then at their brother. "Shootings. They scare me now more than they ever did before. Just the sound of a gunfire is enough to make me freeze up," he admitted. "So I'll stay away from the shooting range. Hopefully that'll be enough to keep this demon away from hunting and killing us." The look in his eyes clearly said what he wasn't: Just like Keith was.

Nathan sighed, about to say something to his brother, but Susan shook her head. _"Let him be,"_ she mouthed to him, placing a hand onto his arm. Immediately, Nathan was pulled into a premonition.

A demon was standing in the living room of Brooke's apartment, passing his hand over the cowering witch, whose face was filled with terror. Smirking with delight at her, he conjured a knife and plunged in into her stomach. Brooke fell to the ground, clutching her stomach, her hair slowly turning white. Just as she hit the ground, Nathan was pulled out of the premonition.

"Nathan?"

"Nathan, what's the matter?"

"Brooke," Nathan gasped, realising that he was staggering a little. "The demon's after her." Not waiting another moment, the Charmed Ones started running towards Brooke's apartment, hoping that they wouldn't find a body.


	25. Attacking the Unexpected

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twenty-five: Attacking the Unexpected

Brooke opened the door to her apartment, tossing her cheerleader bag onto the couch as she headed towards the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Her eyes fell onto the pregnancy test that she had taken this morning just before she left, the one that had come up positive. All three of the tests that she had taken had turned out positive, so she was pretty sure that she was pregnant.

"Of all the times that it had to happen, it had to be now," she grumbled, "when both Lucas and I have _so_ much going on in our lives." Not just normal, she added mentally, but supernatural as well. Lucas was still reeling from the blow of losing his uncle and discovering a sister, plus that he, his brother, and sister were the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy. She, too, was recovering from everything that happened that day at the school as well as trying to control her telepathy.

But at the same time, when she thought about the possibilities of a child, she couldn't imagine getting rid of it. She couldn't get rid of a child that was part Brooke and part Lucas. Still, she didn't know how they were going to deal with it all. They were, after all, still in high school, not to mention they had all of this supernatural stuff going on. She wasn't sure how Lucas was going to react to this.

Just as she was debating whether or not to try and tell Lucas about the baby, Brooke felt a hand clamp over her mouth, preventing her from screaming in terror. "You know, you witches just make this all to easy for me," a cold and taunting voice said with a mirthless laugh.

Brooke's insides crawled at the sound of the voice. She knew instantly who this had to be; Susan had warned her about the demon that was on the loose: the Demon of Fear.

Giving him a good punch, Brooke managed to scramble away and she raced towards the door, ready to get away from her, but the demon appeared in a series of flames in front of her, preventing her escape. Brooke was having trouble breathing as he passed his hands over her. She backed up, trying to get away from him as a broad smile appeared on his face.

"Ah, you're greatest fear is losing the child that you are carrying," he said. "It will be cause for celebration when I get rid of the child of a Charmed One." Conjuring an athame in his hands, the demon was about to plunge it into her stomach when white lights appeared in the room.

"Brooke!" Lucas punched the demon squarely in the jaw, sending him flying backwards, before rushing to his girlfriend's side. Though thoroughly shaken, she accepted his help as Susan and Nathan joined them. "Get us out of here," Lucas ordered his sister.

Susan nodded, grabbing Nathan's hand and placing a hand on Lucas's shoulder, who was holding on to Brooke, and then they orbed out of the apartment. They dematerialised just in time to hear the demon let out a roar of fury and anguish.

When they appeared back at the manor, Lucas helped Brooke into a chair. "I think you guys got there at just the right time," she said with a relieved smile at them. "Thanks."

"No problem," Susan said, looking at her strangely. Then she looked at her younger brother. "Looks like you got that premonition at just the right time, Nate." Brooke was about to ask her what she meant by that when Susan added, "He almost got you, didn't he?"

"What are you talking about?" Brooke stared at her. Susan pointed towards the mirror and Brooke got up, staring in shock at her reflection. Two thick strands of hair that framed her face had turned white. "Oh, my god," she muttered, examining it carefully.

"Well, that's going to be hard to explain away," Nathan said with a sigh. "Although I guess it'd be the hit new trend of Brooke Davis." He was grinning as both his sister stared at him.

"I take it that was the Demon of Fear that you warned me about, Susan?" Brooke asked, turning away from the mirror and looking at her boyfriend's sister. She nodded as Lucas—who had gone to the attic to get the Book—returned downstairs. "Well, do you have any idea how we can vanquish him?"

Just as Susan was about to reply, Lucas said in a confused voice, "Hey, Sue, I thought that you said that Keith didn't say anything in here about how to released your fear."

"There wasn't," Susan answered, looking confusedly around at him. Lucas raised his eyebrows, then looked back down at the page he had been reading on the Demon of Fear.

Walking over to her older brother, she sat down on the couch beside him. Nathan and Brooke walked over behind the couch, looking over their shoulders. "_To release your fear, believe in the greatest of all powers,_" Lucas read aloud.

Susan stared at the page, trying to get her mind around this. "Okay, that wasn't there this morning, you guys," she told them firmly. "I know that I would have remembered that if it had been." She knew that she would have remembered that. She wasn't keen on going up against a demon without any idea of how to stop him.

"Well, maybe you just passed over it accidentally," Nathan suggested. "You know, we've all been under a lot of stress lately. It's under—"

"No, Nathan, it was _not_ there this morning." Susan gave her little brother a look that clearly said that there was no point in arguing with her on this front. Both he and Lucas had gotten to know her well enough to know that when she made up her mind about something like this, there was no arguing with her.

"Okay, well, do you have any idea as to what the 'greatest of all powers' is?" Brooke wanted to know, looking at the page over Lucas's shoulder. "Do you think that's the Power of Three?"

Lucas, about to answer, suddenly had the peculiar sensation of a presence that he recognised instantly. "Strange," he muttered, shaking his head. "You know, sometimes I have these feelings when I feel like Keith is standing here with me. And I just had one."

"Maybe he is here, Luke," Susan said with a smile at him. Lucas smiled back, still feeling Keith's presence.

"All right, well, seeing as how he stopped attacking Brooke the minute that we got there and he hasn't shown up yet, I'm thinking that maybe he only attacks whenever we're alone," Nathan suggested, "when your fear is greatest."

"Interesting theory," Lucas mused. "Certainly explain why the demon waited until after we left the bookshop last night to attack."

"So then all we have to do is stay in a crowd and we'll be perfectly safe?" Susan said humourlessly. "No problem."

"Okay, so we just need to stick together until midnight, is all," Nathan said. "Just stay here in the house and keep close together, watch movies, I don't know . . ."

"Actually, I have to go," Susan said, remembering. The other three looked towards her, startled. "I promised Haley that I would cover her shift at the café while she was at that Whitelighter meeting Up There so your mom's waiting for me, Nate."

The brothers looked at each other, then at their sister. "Okay, fine, but orb there, don't drive and stay in the café until you get off work, then orb home," Lucas ordered her. "Don't go anywhere alone, not even to the bathroom."

Susan rolled her eyes, but reluctantly submitted to their orders. "Fine, fine, fine," she said, shaking her head. "Brooke, can I talk to you in the kitchen real fast?"

Knowing that there was no way that she was going to get out of this one, Brooke followed her into the kitchen. Once Susan was sure neither of her brothers was listening, she said in a quiet tone, "Was the demon about to do what I _think_ he was about to do?"

Brooke nodded; Susan had found her one morning puking what was little in her stomach and Brooke had confessed to her that she thought that she might be pregnant. "I've taken three tests and they all came out positive," she said just as quietly.

"And nothing is usually wrong three times," Susan said quietly, glancing towards where her brothers were. Then she looked towards Brooke again, regarding her seriously. "All right, so when are you going to tell Lucas about this? Because I really do not like having to keeping stuff like this from my brother. In fact, I really, really hate it."

"Jeez, Susan, don't keep stuff from me, tell me how you really feel," Brooke grumbled. When Susan gave her a look, she sighed. "I am going to tell him, just not now, okay? When we're through with his demon, I am _going_ to tell him."

Susan nodded with a sigh. "Well, tell them I said bye," she said. "And get back in there and stay with Lucas and Nathan," she added, orbing out. Brooke sighed as the last of her orbs vanished and then she headed back into the living room, where the brothers were talking.

"She went to the café," Brooke said, deftly avoiding the questioning look that Lucas was throwing her. "She said to say bye." Lucas sighed, seeing that he wasn't going to get any answers from her, and dropped it.

--

But it wasn't until Susan got off of work that anything out of the ordinary occurred. "Thanks for the help, Susan!" Deb called as she headed out of the door. The café was deserted by the time that she left and it was already eleven o'clock. _Only one more hour until curfew for the Demon of Fear, _she thought wryly.

She was heading into the abandoned shop next to Karen's Café to orb home when she heard—no, rather felt someone standing behind her. "There you are, dear," Deb's voice spoke up. But Susan had already turned and came face-to-face with the Demon of Fear.

"And I'll be able to get another witch and more importantly a Charmed One with one stroke," the demon added in his normal voice, smirking at her as he passed his hand over her face. Panic started to rise through her as he began to smile.

"You won't get me," she warned him, her heart racing in her chest as her blue-green eyes met the dark ones of the demon. "I know how you kill. There's no cars around here; you can't trap in one and get me into an accident."

The demon was laughing by the time that she was finished speaking. "A car accident?" he asked, sounding greatly amused. "Is that what you think that your greatest fear is, witch? Why is it that you humans never look deep enough?" he wondered, advancing towards her. Susan took a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest. "Your greatest fear is to leave the child that you foresaw without a mother. Well, I suppose that since he's not born yet, it wouldn't do much good to play on that fear, would it?" he asked. Susan couldn't breathe, realising that he was right. She was still afraid to leave her child without a mother, but there was another fear that was just a strong as that one that she had. "But your fear of losing one of your brothers is just as strong as leaving your child motherless. And I'll get two witches for the price of one."

"No!" Susan yelled, but ropes suddenly appeared around her hands, preventing her from freezing him and she was pulled against one of the poles, binding her to it. Before she could scream for Deb or anyone in hearing range, the demon gagged her. Sputtering incoherent words and swearwords, Susan struggled against her bindings, but knew that it was useless. She could only watch helplessly as the demon called for Lucas, telling him in Deb's voice that he needed to come pick her up.

_Don't come, Luke,_ she thought in panic, tears starting to blind her vision. She didn't care what happened to her, but losing one of her brothers was more terrible than she could have imagined. _Don't come here, please. Stay away. Just stay away, Luke. _She hoped that somehow, he would receive her silent plea of warning.

--

Lucas was talking on his phone. "Yeah, sure, Deb, I'll be right there," he was saying as he hung up. Nathan looked up at his brother, concerned. Was Susan all right? "That was your mom," he told Nathan. "Susan apparently is pretty exhausted and too tired to orb home. Which is probably a good thing she called, since she's pretty new at it. She could've orbed to Switzerland or something like that."

"I'll come with you," Nathan said, getting to his feet. "Probably a bad idea for you to be alone even for a little while."

"No, I'll be fine," Lucas said. "He can't get to me unless there's a shootout, remember? Just stay with Brooke and I'll call you as soon as I get to the café, all right?"

"Okay," Nathan said uneasily, not at all certain that this is a good idea. "But keep your cell on you, all right? And call for Shawn or Haley if you run into any trouble."

"I will, little brother," Lucas said with a grin. He walked over to the couch and kissed the sleeping Brooke on the forehead before picking up his coat and keys, heading out the door. Climbing into his car, he drove towards the café, keeping an eye out for any demon activity. _This is really making me paranoid,_ he thought wryly as he pulled up into the street.

Surprise filled through him as he saw the café locked and dark inside. Deb was supposed to be there, keeping an eye on Susan until he got there to pick her up. "Deb?" he called as he climbed out of the car, looking around the area for his stepmother.

"Over here, Lucas!" Nathan's mother called from the building next to the café. With a frown, Lucas headed over there. This building had been abandoned for as long as he could remember; why were they over there waiting for him? Surely that couldn't be too safe!

"Susan? Deb?" he asked as he opened the door and stepped inside, blinking at the sudden darkness. "Are you guys in here?" He thought he heard some kind of struggling noise just as a light turned on and he turned towards the sound.

His sister was staring at him wide-eyed and tied to a pole, bound and gagged, her blue-green eyes filled with fear. "Susan!" Lucas yelled, shocked, running towards her, but he was stopped by a demon flaming in, the same demon who had attacked before, and he was rooted on the stop, staring at the Demon of Fear.

"Ah, yes, the eldest Scott sibling," he remarked, passing a hand over his face. Lucas was about to fling his hand out when a gunshot ran out, narrowly missing him. Fear suddenly rose through him, forcing him to freeze on the spot. "Your greatest fear is a shootout."

_Stay calm, Lucas,_ he thought in panic as gunfire erupted all around him, in ever direction. _Don't lose control, don't give into the fear. Believe in the greatest of all powers, like Keith wrote in the Book. But what is the greatest of all powers? Is it the Power of Three, like Brooke thought? _

Susan let out a muffled cry of warning just as one of the bullets made contact. Lucas felt the pain slice through him and he fell to his knees, staring up at the demon, who was smiling with delight. "That's it," he said softly, looking at both siblings. "Feed me your fear."

_No!_ Lucas thought faintly, trying to stop the pain, but he couldn't use his powers . . . he was powerless against him. _No, I can't leave her here! I can't just abandon Susan right when she needs me most! I can't . . . I can't . . . I can't leave Mom here . . . she needs me now more than ever . . . _

But he could do nothing to stop the blackness from taking over. And the second-born Charmed One could only watch it happen as she watched her elder brother slowly start to leave her, just as their uncle had. As her mother had.

_I'm sorry, Susan, _Lucas wanted to tell her. _Please forgive me. I'm sorry. I don't want to leave you and Nathan. _

But just as he was about to lose himself to the darkness, he heard a familiar voice whisper, "Luke."

The pain was nearly overtaking him, but he looked up towards the figure that was approaching. "Keith?" he croaked.


	26. The Greatest of all Powers

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twenty-six: The Greatest of all Powers

The pain from the bullet was tearing through him, but Lucas tried to pull his mind away from it, to stare up at the ghostly form of his uncle. "Keith?" he gasped again, trying to pull him into focus. How could he possibly be here? Shawn had said that he wasn't _allowed_ to visit them, not for awhile yet. He was breaking a million rules before, so how could he be visiting him now?

"It's all right, Luke," Keith said, kneeling down beside him. His brown eyes were filled with concern as he met the blue ones of his confused nephew. "You need to let go of your fear, Lucas. You _have_ to let it go, to save yourself, to save your sister. Have faith that your destiny lies upon a different fate than mine. You have to believe that."

Lucas, still confused by all of this, shook his head, not realising that the pain was leaving him as though as it had never been. "How can I?" he whispered, choking out the words. "Every demon that we go up against, every day that I continue to be a witch, I take the change of getting killed. And it's so much worse for Mom, knowing that she could lose her only child like she lost you. There's no one else to help her if I die, no one for her to have reason to keep on living."

"Your mom has plenty of reasons to keep on living, Lucas," Keith said firmly. He was smiling. "She knows that what you're doing is for the Greater Good. Karen is strong, Lucas, where do you think that you get all of your strength? It is that strength that led you to becoming the head of this family and the eldest sibling." Lucas managed a weak smile. "Besides, she's going to have another reason to live very soon. Actually, she already has it, but she'll only discover it very soon, if she hasn't already. Your sister is enough of a reason for her to keep on going."

Lucas shook his head, becoming more confused by the minute. "But Keith, Mom likes Susan, sure, but they're not really that close. Why would she be a reason?"

"It was not Susan that I was speaking of," Keith said mildly. Before Lucas could even ask what he meant, he continued, "Lucas, to stop this demon, you need to believe in the greatest of all powers: love. Love for your siblings, for your mom, for Brooke, whatever love that you need to face your fear, to conquer it, take that now. Even love for your daughters that Susan saw in the future and your son that she did not foresee."

Taking a deep breath and staring at his uncle, Lucas realised that his fear was ebbing away as though it had never been, replaced by the love that he felt for everyone in his life and everyone that he had ever cherished, even in the smallest measurement.

Opening his eyes, Lucas struggled to his feet; the bullet wound gone. But it had never been there, he now realised. It was merely an illusion. Now standing up, Lucas glared at the demon, who was staring in shock at this. Clearly, no one had actually ever vanquished their fear against him.

"No," he whispered as Lucas faced him down. "NO! THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"

"This party's over," Lucas told him through gritted teeth, using his power to throw the demon into the wall. Thrown off balance, the demon tried to use his power again on Lucas, but it had no effect. "I'm not afraid anymore. Your kind took away the person that I loved like a father and now you think to take away my sister?" he continued. "Not as long as I draw breath."

Hearing the beeping of her watch, Susan managed to turn her head towards her wrist and saw the watch beeping the twelfth hour, when the Demon of Fear's power ran out.

The demon howled as he was swallowed whole by the fire portal that had opened up beneath his feet and vanished into the flames.

Susan felt her bonds and gag vanished and she stumbled forward straight into her brother's arms. Lucas caught her just as she was about to fall and she wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. He stroked her dark hair, glad that she was safe.

"Oh, god, I was so afraid that I'd lost you," she whispered, sobbing hard into her brother's chest, harder than she had even on the day that Keith had died.

"It's okay, Sue, I'm all right," Lucas whispered to his sister. "It's all right, it's over. You're safe now." Susan nodded into his chest, but he could still feel her trembling. "I love you, little sister," he whispered, resting his chin onto the top of her head.

"I love you, too," she whispered, "but I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, Luke," she confessed, her voice choked by her sobs. "He knew that, even before I did. He knew that one of my greatest fears was to lose one of you guys. I don't ever want to lose you."

"You won't," Lucas told her firmly, smiling as he recalled his uncle's words. But what had he meant by another sister, one that he didn't even know about? "Have faith that we will survive and that our destinies are to be different than Keith's." But still he held her against him, comforting his little sister. "It's okay, now, Sue, let's go home."

--

Karen and his mom arrived to the manor before his brother and sister did, which, considering that his mom told him that she hadn't called Lucas and Susan had left before she did, was reason for concern. Nathan immediately started to head out to look for them just as the door opened and Lucas and Susan spilled in.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked, relief surging through him, though he noted Lucas looked a little worse for the war and Susan looked as though she'd been crying.

"Yeah, we, uh, had a little run-in with the Demon of Fear," Lucas explained just as Karen and Deb headed outside before coming into the manor with some boxes. He raised his eyebrows at them before returning his attention to Nathan, deciding that whatever they were doing could wait until after explanations had been clarified.

"You sure that you're okay?" Nathan asked, worried. "I mean, it's after twelve, so he shouldn't be coming back, should he? We're safe now."

"Don't worry, he's gone, or at least defeated for now," Susan said with a sigh. "Can't really vanquish him, can we? But Lucas did kick some demon butt pretty good," she added, grinning just as the boys' mothers walked in and out again, carrying some boxes. "Hey, what are you guys doing, anyway?" she wanted to know.

It was a pretty good question when Lucas realised that some of his stuff was poking out of the boxes. The women looked at each other. "Well, Deb and I have been doing some talking," Karen said at long last, looking at her son. "And we think that it's for the best that the three of you started living together."

"What!" Lucas, Nathan, and Susan all said together. Nathan and Susan looked at each other in amazement. They had known that it'd be easier with the Power of Three under one roof, but hadn't really expected it to actually happen, so soon after Keith's death.

"Mom, are you kidding me?" Lucas demanded. "I can't just leave you with everything that you have going on right now. I can't leave you alone."

Karen smiled and shook her head. "The three of you need to be together here, Lucas," she told him. "This place is your heritage; Keith grew up here and so did many generations of Scotts. And you've been spending most of your time here anyway. Besides, I'm not going to be alone," she added. "Deb is going to be living with me. But if we find that any of you are going to slack off on your grades or anything," she told them warningly, "this is going to be revoked. This is a privilege, which can be taken away. Start skipping school or slacking on grades and you'll start having parental supervision again. You three understand me?"

"Yes, Mom," Lucas said, used to his mom's rules.

"Yes, Ms. Roe," Nathan said after seeing the look in his mom's eyes.

"Yes, Karen," Susan said, grinning wildly.

"Good," Karen said with a smile back at Susan. "Now, we'll let you three get settled in." She hugged her son tightly. "You keep coming over, though, all right? I don't want to lose contact with you just because you're moving out."

"You won't, Ma," Lucas said with a grin. "Promise." With a smile, she and Deb left, leaving the siblings alone in the hallway. But not for long, as Susan spotted Brooke standing in the doorway, looking edgily towards the siblings—or more importantly, Lucas.

"Uh, I think we'll leave you two to talk," Susan said. "Come on, Nate," she added more insistently, pulling him upstairs.

Lucas watched his brother and sister go before turning to Brooke. "What was that about?" he asked her.

"Well, Susan knows that I need to talk to you about something," Brooke said quietly, looking up at him. Lucas frowned. "Lucas, there's something that I need to tell you."

"Okay."

"I really hadn't confirmed it until this afternoon, when the demon attacked me, but . . ." Brooke stopped and switched her sentence. "He knew what my greatest fear was, Luke. It was . . . for me to lose our baby. I know that sounds stupid and I know it wasn't planned, but . . ."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lucas said, stopping her. He was looking stunned and shocked. "You're _pregnant_?"

"Um . . ." Brooke gave an uneasy laugh. "Yeah. I am. I didn't mean for it to happen, but Lucas, I can't get rid of the baby. It's too precious to me and I know we're in high school and I know we're too young for this, but I can't . . . I just can't get rid of it." Her eyes were starting to tear up by the time that she had finished this speech.

Shaking his head, trying to clear his thoughts, Lucas said in disbelief, "But—but what about birth control? I thought that you were on that."

"I _was_," Brooke said, stressing the word for emphasis. "Up until the day that I took the first test and it came out positive. After that, I stopped using it because I didn't want to jeopardise the baby's health. Why do you think that I suggested using alternate birth control?"

"Why didn't you _say_ anything?"

"I wanted to make sure, which I wasn't until that demon said that my greatest fear was to lose the baby. Lucas, I'm sorry, but I can't get rid of the baby." Her face was earnestful, as though trying to make him understand.

Lucas slowly nodded. "No, I understand, Brooke. You don't have to explain it to me." He let out a slow breath. "But what are we going to do about college and stuff?"

Brooke's gaze turned hopeful. "You're going to help me?" she asked, relieved.

He laughed, pulling her into a tight hug. "Of course I am. Do you think that I'd just off and leave you like Dan left my mom?" he asked her, smiling. "Believe me, Brooke, this baby is as precious to me as he is to you." Lucas kissed her tenderly.

With a small smile, Brooke gave him a slightly seductive smile. "And what makes you think, Mr. Scott, that this child is going to be a boy?" she inquired.


	27. Nathan's Rebellion

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twenty-seven: Nathan's Rebellion

Susan was stirring some spices in the pot she was boiling when she heard—or rather felt—someone orb into the kitchen. She grinned when Shawn slipped his arms around her waist, kissing her tenderly on the forehead. "Hi, there," she said, turning around to greet him properly. When they finished a long and passionate kiss, she asked, "You playing hooky?"

"Nah, the Elders had me working earlier today, so I have the night off," Shawn replied. "Thought that we might have an evening alone together."

"In this house?" Susan inquired, raising her eyebrows in amusement just as they heard voices rising in the background, sounding like Nathan and Haley. Both Whitelighters looked towards the next floor, then at each other.

"They fighting again?" Shawn asked, taking a seat by the counter and watching Susan continue to cook. Both were trying to ignore the sounds of the heated argument above them.

"Yep," Susan sighed. "I don't know what's going on with them, but it isn't good. Nathan keeps going off with all these demons hunts and last week, he even cut school twice to do it, resulting in him getting benched for one of the games."

"I'll bet Whitey was thrilled."

"Yeah, that's one way of saying it. Something up with him, though, something that he's not saying."

"Well, have you or Lucas tried talking to him?" Shawn asked as she poured noodles into the pot of sauce that she was stirring. "Because sometimes people just need to talk about things when something's bothering them like this."

"Yeah, we've tried," Susan said with a sigh, her dark bangs falling unceremoniously into her blue-green eyes. "He just keeps coming up with excuses for not talking to us. Not to mention, Lucas has his hands full with the baby and everything."

Ever since the night that they found out that Brooke was pregnant three months ago, she had moved in with the siblings, setting up her own room next to Lucas's and across from an empty room for the baby, when it came. Karen hadn't been too happy about it, when she found out about the baby, but she had reluctantly submitted to the inevitable. But Lucas and Brooke's baby wasn't the only Scott that was appearing on the horizon. Karen was pregnant with Keith's baby. (AN: Okay, I lied. This will parallel the show, somewhat. I had to do something nice for Karen, though. However, the baby will _not_ have a large role in the story.)

About a week after news of Brooke's pregnancy was announced, Lucas proposed to Brooke and she accepted, but the couple agreed to postpone the wedding until after the baby was born. They said it was because they wanted to get used to living together before they got married, but Susan privately thought Brooke just wanted to wait until after her enormous stomach wasn't leading the way for her to walk down the aisle.

"Not that it's any of my business, but you should really try and talk to him again. People usually push away people when they need them the most."

Susan managed a wry smile. "How can it not be any of your business?" she wanted to know. "You're our _Whitelighter_. If this is something that is going to affect the Power of Three, then I think it becomes your business." She sighed, glancing upward. "I just wish that I had general some idea of what was bothering him so I could help him."

--

"So your work with the youngest Charmed One is progressing very nicely, then, Emily?" Inspector Anderson asked, leaning back in his chair and surveying the young woman in front of him critically.

Emily McCain nodded, her dark eyes fixed upon her employer. "I have pushed him to the point where he keeps going off on demon hunts without his siblings' knowledge. He is under the impression that they don't trust him to handle demons on his own."

"I'm very impressed, Miss McCain. Very impressed. I must say that I had my doubts when I hired you for this job. But you have proven your worth beyond doubt. All we have to do is spread them far enough apart to break the Power of Three and get what we're after. Once we do that, our master will reward us quite handsomely."

"And what if we don't?" Emily wanted to know. "If we fail in this attempt, then he will have our heads. If we survive going up against the Charmed Ones, that is."

"I'd rather die against them than _him_." Anderson stood up, walking around the desk. "But we must be patient, Emily. If they discover what we're up to, then there's no telling what they might do."

"They _won't._ No one has discovered that his under telepathic control yet. Even though Nathan is wary of my inner voice, he listens to it. He's very easily persuaded, that one. Mostly because he's been betrayed by his father and never even got to know his uncle like his brother and sister did. Even though she knew him for a lot less, the sister knew him better than Nathan did."

"How long before he starts to break through your power?" Anderson wanted to know.

"He already has," Emily informed him. "It's taking all of my power to keep him under control. I have to be inside his mind twenty-four hours a day in order to keep him under control. And believe me, it's not easy to talk to someone and use telepathy at the same time."

Anderson swore, leaning against the desk, rubbing his head over his chin. "And the sister is this close to figuring out what is going on," he grumbled. "We have to get him out of the manor, for a while, at least, until we can figure out how to control him."

"How?" Emily responded, eyes narrowing. "It's impossible to get inside the manor without being vanquished. And they would know that we were in the Underworld if we took him there. So where else is there?"

"I'm not sure . . ." Anderson frowned, then brightened as an idea dawned upon him. "Of course! It's the only place that they won't think of and won't expect!"

"What?"

"Don't take him into the Underworld. Take him someplace that they won't find him until it's too late," Anderson told her with an evil grin. "You know of the demon Valtarian, don't you?"

"He's been a great help to my father and myself in the past."

"Yes, but one thing that few demons know is that he has the power to travel back and forth through time," Anderson explained. "They won't be expecting him to be taken away to another _time._ Find Valtarian and tell him to take Nathan away someplace, to another time."

"Of course, but why take him to another time?"

"Because, Emily, when his siblings leave our time to go find him, then we can go after Brooke Davis. With the Power of Three sufficiently distracted and away, then we can go after Miss Davis and her unborn child. After all," he added with a mirthless smile, "they won't even know she's gone until after they return. By then, it'll be too late. We'll already have Lucas's son in our grasp. And then we will be honoured beyond our wildest dreams in the Underworld."

--

Nathan stormed out of the house, as furious with himself as he was with Haley. Why did she have to treat him this way, as though he didn't know any better. He knew perfectly well that going up against demons was dangerous; he had known that when he, Lucas, and Susan fought that demon the first night! She was treating him like a child!

And his brother and sister weren't helping. They were acting as though he couldn't take care of himself, just because he didn't have an active power. He loved his premonition power, he really did, but he wouldn't mind having an active power along with it. Shawn said that their powers would progress, but he wanted to know when his would progress to the point where he would have one he could actually fight demons with.

Nathan was about to head towards the river court to practice basketball when he felt the familiar tugging and was instantly thrust into a premonition.

A young woman being attacked, a demon hovering over her and thrusting an athame into her chest, its lips curling into a smirk. She screamed in pain and terror as the athame hit its mark, the blood pouring out of her chest.

Coming out of the premonition, Nathan shook his head to clear it, and instantly heard a scream of terror. Without thinking twice, Nathan ran in the direction of the scream, coming into an alley, where he saw the same demon bent over a different girl. But that didn't matter; all that mattered was that he had an Innocent to save.

"HEY!" he barked and the demon turned around, dropping the unconscious girl onto the ground.

"Well, well, well, right on schedule, witch," he said with a smirk. "I had the feeling that your little foresight power would show you exactly where I was. Course, it wouldn't have mattered if it didn't. I would've enjoyed having fun with this one." He nodded towards the girl. "Oh, well." He conjured an energy ball, aiming it towards Nathan.

"Yeah, well, enjoy living while you can, 'cause you're not getting me," Nathan drawled, driving into an offensive attack, knocking the demon towards the ground. The energy ball went flying, grazing Nathan on the arm, before hitting the wall opposite.

Wincing slightly at the pain that surged through his arm, Nathan ignored it, punching the demon and sending him flying backwards into the wall. Scrambling to his feet, Nathan saw the demon stand up, a grin spreading across his face as he saw the youngest Charmed One.

"You're coming with me, witch," he told Nathan.

"Don't bet on it," Nathan said, heaving and bracing himself for the next attack. But the demon only waved his hands, a blue and white portal appearing behind him. Wind began to pick up, pulling everything in the alleyway into it. Nathan had to grab hold of a pole in order to avoid being sucked in there. The girl was out of range, otherwise she would've been pulled in.

He heard the sound of orbing and lost his grip on the pole when someone grabbed his hand, startling him. If they hadn't been holding on to him, he would've been sucked into the portal. The demon scowled when he saw the new arrivals.

"Need some help, little brother?" Lucas asked, getting a better grip on him. Susan appeared by their side, her hair blowing into her face.

"I have everything under control!" Nathan snapped, yanking free from his brother's grip. However, this was a very bad thing to do, because he was caught off his feet by the intense wind and sucked into the portal.

There was a rush of colours and noises and the next thing he knew, he had landed on the deck of a boat, a bit dazed. For a moment, he didn't want to move, in case the demon appeared again, but then he realised that he had better get up before someone found him.

As he scrambled to his feet, he looked around. There was nobody around, but since it was in the dead of night, he didn't suspect it to be. He was walking through the deck when he saw a life preserver hanging on the wall and stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening.

In bold letters on the preserver, was written, **_The R.M.S. Titanic, 1912._**


	28. Missing a Brother

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twenty-eight: Missing a Brother

It was a pretty moody meal at the Scotts that night. Haley had obviously been crying from her argument with Nathan and wasn't saying much, just picking at her dinner. Brooke sensed the uneasiness in the room and wolfed her dinner down, making excuses about some clothes she was making for the baby she needed to work on.

When Brooke left, Susan sighed, abandoning what was left from her dinner. "We need to talk to Nathan again," she said to Lucas. "Because this is getting ridiculous and this little 'Power of One' kick of his is getting out of control."

"I agree, but we have tried to talk to him on numerous occasions," Lucas pointed out. "What more can we possible do? We have tried everything. Maybe he just is trying to take his anger out on demons and doesn't want to bother us because of the baby and everything."

"That's hardly it, Luke," Haley said quietly, her voice slightly strange from crying. "He won't even talk to me about what's bothering him. Ever since this demon hunting started, he's just been a completely different person. I don't even know him anymore."

"Well, whatever it is, you need to find out what's going on and fast," Shawn offered his advice. "I have the feeling that this is going to start spiralling downward and fast."

"You don't think that some demon is brainwashing him or something?" Susan wanted to know. "What?" she asked when Lucas gave her a look. "With everything that has happened in the past few months, I don't know if anything's going to surprise me anymore."

Shawn smiled half-heartedly and was about to say something, when he glanced up, frowning. "Something wrong," he said quickly. "Nathan's in trouble."

"Tell Brooke where we're going, Hales," Lucas said quickly. "We'll make your husband's okay, I promise."

Haley sighed and nodded as Susan took Lucas's hand and orbed them to the place where she sensed her brother. She was nearly knocked off her feet when the strong wind picked up. Lucas grabbed her and pulled her away from the portal she hadn't noticed before.

"What is going on?" she asked him, but Lucas ignored her, grabbing Nathan's hand.

"Need a hand, little brother?" he asked, trying to pull Nathan out of range of the portal so they wouldn't get sucked in. Susan grabbed Lucas's arm, trying to help her brothers.

"_I have everything under control!_" Nathan screamed at him, yanking free. One minute, he was flying away from them and then the next, he had vanished, the portal along with him, leaving Susan and Lucas alone with a demon who had been standing by the portal.

"Who are you?" Lucas demanded, using his powers to try and keep the demon where he was. For the moment, at least. "What did you do with our brother?"

"Sent him somewhere where you won't find him for a long time," the demon replied smoothly. He conjured an energy ball and threw it towards Lucas. Susan froze it in mid-air, but Lucas had ducked on instinct, releasing the demon, who shimmered out.

Susan stepped away from the energy ball and pushed against the wall where the portal had been. "It's gone, the portal," she said when it didn't appear again. "Nathan's gone."

She must've sounded devastated, because Lucas put a reassuring arm around her. "We'll find him," he said firmly. "Come on, let's get to the manor and get to the Book."

With a tiny nod, Susan concentrated on orbing them back to the manor, neither of them noticing Anderson standing in the shadows, an evil grin appearing on his face. Phase one of his plan was complete. Now all they had to do was wait for the siblings to leave. Then Brooke Davis would be left vulnerable.

And then he would get her and the child.

--

In another part of Tree Hill, a blue and white portal in the shape of a Triquetra appeared out of nowhere and a tall and lanky brunette teenager came stumbling out of it, looking apprehensively around at his surroundings as the portal vanished behind him. He let out a deep breath, a relieved smile crossing his face.

"All right, it's the right place," he said quietly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Hopefully it's the right time."

The fifteen-year-old started walking down the street, his brown eyes darting his way and that, as though he were expecting someone to appear before him. As he walked past the newspaper stand, he picked a paper up, checking the date on it. A satisfied smile cross his face when he saw the date and he let out a slow breath, glancing back in the direction that he'd come in, where the portal had been.

"Nice job, cousin," he remarked, speaking to the cousin that was back home, where he had come from.

Tossing the newspaper back onto the stand, the teenager started jogging in the direction of the Scott manor. Time was starting to run out and they were about to leave. He had to stop them from going after Nathan before it was too late.

--

"_You lost Nathan!_" Haley freaked out, looking horrified at the two elder Charmed Ones. "What do you mean, you lost Nathan? How could you let that happen?"

"All right, look, Hales, try not to panic, okay?" Lucas tried calming her down. Haley only glared at him. "I promised that we would make sure your husband's all right and that is what we're going to do. We're just going to have to figure out where he is, first." He tried to sound optimistic, but was failing miserably.

"Okay, I found the demon," Susan announced, trying to brighten everyone's spirits. "His name's Valtarian, an Upper Level demon who has the power to travel back and forth through time."

Lucas looked around at her, startled. "Excuse me? Did you just say that this demon has the power to travel through _time_?"

"Yeah, apparently, that's what the portal was, a time portal, and it was taking Nathan to another time." Susan looked up at him, a humourless smile crossing her face that didn't meet her blue-green eyes. "So who wants to be the first to say that we are officially screwed?"

"No, we're not," Lucas said firmly. "Okay, we have to find Nathan before he does anything that he's going to regret later."

"Or he does something to mess up the timeline, whenever that may be," Shawn added.

"Mess up the timeline?" Brooke echoed.

"A single event can change the entire course of history and alter the future," Shawn explained. "Think for a minute if Lucas had never joined the basketball team, what would have happened?"

"I never would have gotten together with Brooke, twice," Lucas suggested, wrapping an arm around his fiancée protectively. "Nathan would still be a stranger to me. And Haley Scott would still be that bookworm Haley James," he added teasingly. Haley smiled ruefully back.

"And if Mom hadn't died in that car accident," Susan said quietly, "I never would have come looking for my father, never would have found out about Luke and Nate, and the Charmed Ones never would have been constituted."

"The question is," Lucas said, giving his sister a glance, "how do we find out where Nathan's at. The 'To Call a Lost Witch' spell won't work. And what do we do when we find him?"

"I'm voting for dragging him back home kicking and screaming, then knocking some sense into that thick skull of his."

"I was thinking something more along the lines of, how do we find out what's going on with him?" Lucas said, frowning at Brooke. "If some demon is doing something to him, the how do we figure out what and then how do we fix it?"

"I'd say that there's a pretty good chance that this demon was sent by someone," Susan offered. "So before we vanquish him—which, by the way, requires the Power of Three," she added, glancing down at the Book, "we interrogate the demon about who hired him."

"Sounds like a good plan," Brooke said. "So, how are we going to get . . . wherever Nathan is. _Whenever _he is," she corrected herself.

"No, Susan and I are going, alone," Lucas said firmly.

The look that Brooke gave him was enough to tell him what she thought of that suggestion. "Look, Lucas, I love you for looking out for me, but if this is about my delicate condition, you can—"

"It's not, Brooke. Sending one person through time is bad enough, but the more people that we send, the better chance we have of screwing up the balance."

"He's right, Brooke," Haley said after a minute. "We can't go; we can only send them."

"So let's write a spell," Susan said, picking up a pad of paper and starting to construct a spell to send her and her brother through time, then another one to get them back.

It was several minutes before she finally had it. "All right, got it, you ready?" she asked, walking over to Lucas. He nodded and they started reading the spell.

_"In this night and in this hour,_

_we call upon the ancient power. _

_Remove the chains of time and space,_

_and take us to the one whom we wish to face."_

There was a shimmer of lights surrounding the two remaining Charmed Ones and then they were gone, leaving Shawn, Haley, and Brooke in the attic, wondering if they were ever going to see them again.


	29. Past and Future Family

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Twenty-nine: Past and Future Family

Nathan peered around the corner as he snuck downstairs to the third class area. So far, so good, there was nobody there to spot him. He wasn't sure how he got himself into this mess, but all he knew was that he wanted to get himself out of it as soon as he could.

_Don't worry, Susan and Lucas will come with a plan,_ a voice inside his mind told him reassuringly.

Scowling, Nathan rubbed his forehead. "I don't need them to rescue me," he grumbled. "I can rescue myself just fine."

_Yes, you've been doing a great job so far. If you had just let them help you with the demon, then you wouldn't be stuck here in 1912, now would you, Mr. Know-It-All? _

Before Nathan could continue arguing with himself—which, now that Nathan thought about it, had to mean he was going crazy—a voice spoke up from behind him. "Hey, what do we have here?"

Turning around, Nathan saw a man around his age standing against the stairwell, peering at him closely. "Blimey," he said cheerfully, looking back up the stairwell and talking to someone that was out of Nathan's eyesight. "Hey, come take a look at this, sis. Looks like the first class come down here to have a laugh at us, Liz."

Something about him seemed familiar, Nathan thought. But he was pretty sure that he had never seen him before in his life; how could he have, anyway? The guy would have to have been almost a hundred in his own time, if he had even lived through the tragedy that was about to occur in the next couple of days. But Nathan could swear that something about him seemed vaguely familiar.

"What are you doing down here with the slaves of third class, Halliwell?" the guy asked, cocking his head at Nathan.

It took a minute for Nathan to realise what the guy had called him. "What did you call me?"

"Sorry, _Mr._ Halliwell, isn't it?" the guy laughed. "Wasn't too long ago that you and your wife up there were down here with the rest of us. And now take a look at you, Jon. Dressed up in your finest and having fine wine with the rest of the first class beauties."

Nathan shook his head. "Look, I think that you've made a mistake, sir," he said, trying to bluff his way through. "My name's not Jon Halliwell. You must be mistaken me for someone else."

"Hey, Elizabeth!" the guy said, looking up the stairwell to the person that he talked to before. "Come take a look at this guy, huh? Tell me that I'm wrong and this isn't our old friend Halliwell."

A young woman appeared beside the guy and Nathan was momentarily stunned for a moment as her features were thrown into light. Even though her hair was shades lighter than his sister's was, the young woman was the spitting image of Susan. Same eyes, same mouth, same nose, same chin. Even the way that her hair curled was the exact way that his sister's did.

The guy had called this young woman 'Elizabeth.' Susan's mom's name had been Elizabeth. Could it be coincidence? Nathan wondered. His sister's mom had died during World War I, so there was a definite possibility that this young woman was indeed the woman who had mothered his older sister and had been his father and uncle's Whitelighter.

"Hate to say it, big brother, but you're wrong," Elizabeth told him with a grin. "Looks a bit like Jon, but it's not him. Probably a relative of his or something. You related to Jonathan Halliwell?" she asked him now, looking inquiringly at Nathan.

The name suddenly sparked something in Nathan's memory. His great-great-great grandfather's name had been Jonathan. He had returned with his wife and newborn daughter to the States after conducting some business in Europe. And he had come aboard the _Titanic_.

"You know," he said in answer to Elizabeth's question, "I think that's a definite possibility." Elizabeth chuckled. "But, you know, I do need to find him. Do you think you could help me?"

Elizabeth surveyed him, then grinned. "That I could," she agreed, looking at her brother. "Tell Dad where I'm going, won't you?"

"Lizzie, you're not allowed up on first class!" he protested. His sister ignored him and tugged on Nathan's arm, pulling him up the stairwell and onto the deck.

If there was anybody that could help him from this time and place, it was definitely one of the ancestors of the Warren line.

--

"Do you think they're all right?" Brooke asked, sitting down on one of the couches as she looked at the two Whitelighters.

"Should be," Shawn muttered, but he didn't look any more convinced that the telepath did. "Look, I'm gonna go check with the Elders, all right? See if they don't know anything about this Valtarian demon that might be more helpful."

Haley nodded and he orbed out, leaving her with Brooke. "If they don't make it back, I swear, I'm going to turn away from the pacifist path and hunt the demon down that did this."

Brooke chuckled slightly, feeling the baby do a back flip in her stomach and she placed her hand over her slightly swollen belly. "Haley?" she asked. "Do you think that everything's going to turn out okay? Shawn's really an optimistic, but what do you think is going to happen?"

"I don't know, Brooke," Haley admitted. "Shawn's been doing this a lot longer than I have; I got to say, he probably knows what he's talking about. Besides that, Susan, Lucas, and Nathan are the Charmed Ones, prophesised a long time ago. Demons have feared their coming for generations and witches and Whitelighters have hoped for it."

"So you're saying that nothing is going to be able to stop them?" Brooke asked.

"I'm saying that they're prophesised for a reason. They've got powers that no other witch has, the Power of Three. We just have to believe that they'll be all right."

Brooke sighed and nodded as the doorbell rang downstairs. She glanced down at her watch. "It's after midnight, who could that be?" she wondered as she got up off the couch, heading downstairs to answer it, Haley at her heels.

She unchained the door and opened it, revealing a teenager standing against the wall, waiting for her to open it. He was tall and lanky with brown hair that was styled the same way that Keith's was. His eyes were brown, too, filled with warmth and strength. Somehow, though she couldn't say how, she felt as though she knew him.

"Hi, can I help you?" Brooke asked, staring at the teenager. It was late enough as it was; what was he doing here?

"No, I'm here to help you," the boy replied, straightening up. Before Brooke could ask what he meant by that, the boy walked past her, heading into the foyer.

"Who are you?" Haley demanded, frowning at the boy. "Don't you know what time it is?"

"Where's Lucas, Susan, and Nathan?" the boy replied, ignoring their questions. He was looking around the room, as though he were expecting the siblings to appear out of nowhere.

"That is none of your business!" Brooke barked angrily. "Now you tell us who you are and what you want."

The boy laughed, shaking his head in exasperation. "I don't have time for this. Please tell me that they didn't go after Nathan already," he added on a more serious note.

Haley and Brooke stared at him; he was staring back at them, waiting for their answer. "How—how do you know about that?" Haley said at long last. "Who are you?"

"Look, I don't have time to sit and chat, okay? They've left already, haven't they? Cast the spell to summon themselves to Nathan?" he asked, looking worried.

Brooke slowly gave a short nod and the boy let out a swear, shaking his head at the ceiling. "Oh, thank you so much! You couldn't have sent me ten minutes earlier, could you?" he demanded and Brooke had to suppress a smile. "This is fantastic; really, really fantastic!"

"Look, kid, I have about enough of this," Haley said, still looking at him in aggravation. The newcomer looked at her. "Now either tell us who you are and how you know about all of this or you're gonna have some major problems on your hands."

"Jeez, Haley!" the boy said, holding up his hands as a sign of peace. "Look, don't bite my head off, I'm just trying to help, okay? I know all of this because I am . . . from the future."

Brooke's mouth fell open in surprise at that statement. "You're from the _future_?" she demanded incredulously. Now she studied him, frowning, the feeling of familiarity once again flaring up inside of her. He really did look familiar . . .

"Yeah," the boy agreed with a solemn nod. "I came here because I know that the demon that attacked tonight, the one that sent Nathan through the portal, was hired by another demon. Actually, two demons. And they're trying to get the siblings out of the way so that they can get to you and your unborn child. And trust me, they'll succeed. Lucas, Nathan, and Susan managed to rescue you and the baby, but not before they tapped into the baby's powers and managed to resurrect Dan."

"What?" Haley demanded, looking astounded. "They have already vanquished Dan, how can there be an escape route? Fallen witches are not supposed to come back from the dead."

"Okay, not that I don't appreciate your coming here and trying to help me and my baby and stop his biological grandfather from coming back from the dead, but what's the catch?" Brooke said at last. She stared at the boy. "How come you're really doing this? And who are you? What's your name?"

The boy hesitated, then sighed, giving in. "All right," he said, looking at Brooke directly in the eyes. "I'm doing this because it directly affects me. My name's Keith. Keith Scott the Second."

Brooke felt her knees give way and the boy—Keith—had to grab her and steady her, pushing her into a chair. But she didn't care. "Your—your name's Keith Scott?" she croaked.

He nodded, grinning for the first time. And she realised that it was Lucas's smile. "Yeah, Mom, I'm your son," he said, gesturing towards her slightly swollen belly.


	30. Troubles in First Class

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Thirty: Troubles in First Class

Susan walked through the first class area, noting the astonished glances that she was getting from many of the ladies and even from the men. It took her a few minutes to figure out why; she and Lucas hadn't known where Nathan had been going and therefore didn't know what kind of clothing to adapt.

"We're standing out here," she informed Lucas when she caught up with him. "Actually, just me. Most women in 1912 don't wear jeans and shirts," she said, surveying her brother's clothes critically. He, actually, didn't stand out too much.

"Well, we'll be out of here before they can do something about it. Can they still hang you for dressing above your class?" Lucas said, earning himself a smack on the arm. "Ow!" He rubbed his forearm. "So, did you see Nate anywhere?"

"Nope." Susan shook her head. "Do you think there's a possibility that we messed the spell up?" she asked in a quiet tone. "I mean, maybe he's not even here."

"He has to be here," Lucas protested. "We cast the spell to find the person that we were looking for through time and space. I don't see how it _could_ have messed up."

"I suppose," Susan said, heaving a sigh. "But still, we should have found him by now."

"Sue, the ship's over a mile long," Lucas pointed out. "More like two, now that I think about. For all we know, he could have wound up down in third class or something. But there's got to be someone around here that has seen him."

"Luke, be careful, you know that Shawn told us not to interact too much here. Anything we say or do could have severe repercussions on future events," Susan warned him as he walked off to talk to a few of the passengers. _Like telling them that the ship's going to sink in a few days,_ she thought humourlessly. _Not that they'd even _believe_ us if we did tell them. This is supposed to be the "unsinkable ship."_

With a sigh, she walked through the first class area again, hoping to catch a glimpse of her brother. Without warning, she felt someone grab her arm and yank her into a corridor. She opened her mouth to yell for Lucas, but her captor clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Hush, girl," the woman holding her said angrily. "Do you want them to hear you?" Susan stared at her in surprise. The woman was around her mid-twenties and was a little on the plump side. She had blonde hair that fell into her light blue eyes. She was, to be precise, the spitting image of Lucas.

Trying to calm her racing heart, Susan whispered, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The woman looked at her tiredly. "I've known you were coming for a few days, girl. You come from a great distance and were not here when the ship first left shore. When I saw you and your brother searching around first class, I naturally assumed that you were searching for me." She shook her head. "My name's Leah. Leah Halliwell. And you are?"

"Susan," she answered, realising that she couldn't exactly give her real name, otherwise people might discover that she had come from the future. "Susan Roe," she added, using Karen's name. It was the best thing that she could come up with on such short notice. "And what do you mean, you knew we were coming? How could you know?"

"I have gifts that enable me to see things from time to time," Leah replied simply. "As soon as I had a warning of your coming, I cast a spell upon this entire ship and everybody in it. Unless they were already boarded, only a Warren witch would be allowed to appear on here."

"But my brothers and I _are _Warrens," Susan protested, coming on to the conclusion of who this woman was. She knew that Lucas and Susan were from the future, she had the gift of foresight, which was a Warren power, she had expected them to be looking for her. This had to be one of their ancestors. Their great-great-great grandmother, if she wasn't mistaken.

"Of course you are," Leah agreed, still studying her critically, her nose wrinkling as she surveyed Susan's clothes. "But how is it that we have never met?" she asked.

"I'm from the future," Susan admitted, glancing down at her clothes and feeling a bit self-conscious.

"Of course you are," Leah said. Susan looked at her, frowning slightly. "That would explain the clothes."

"Look, I'm sorry that you thought that we were looking for you, but my brother and I just came to find our other brother. Somehow, he ended up here and we had to travel through time in order to get him back. I'm sorry, Mrs. Halliwell. Excuse me."

She tried to walk away, but Leah stopped her. "You might as well come to my cabin, Miss Roe," she told her. Susan looked at her, cocking here eyebrows in confusion. "I have the feeling that you'll find what you came here to find. Get your brother. Then come back here."

Susan hesitated, then went to go find Lucas and explained the situation. Lucas immediately agreed that she probably knew what she was talking about and that the Warren family came from _her_ side of the family. He was probably right. He had taken to studying the family album lately, trying to come up with names for his baby.

When they returned to Leah, she immediately took them up to her cabin, where two people were waiting patiently in the room. And they were two people that Susan knew very well.

"Nathan?" Lucas asked, looking relieved at seeing their brother in the cabin.

"Mom?" Susan asked incredulously, staring in utter shock at the eighteen-year-old version of her mother.

--

"Okay, this is just plain crazy!" Brooke exclaimed, pulling away from the kid that was claiming to be her son from the future and walking away. "Aren't people supposed to stay in their own time? And just when we send Lucas and Susan off to . . . whatever time Nathan was in, our son comes from the future, trying to prevent it?" She glared at him. "This has got to be a joke."

"It's no joke, Mom, I wouldn't do that to you," Keith said quietly, looking down at his shoes. Through her telepathy, Brooke could tell that he was depressed about the way that she was reacting.

Instantly, she felt horrible and returned to her son's side. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry," she whispered, pulling him into her arms. Keith wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "You just . . . really surprised me, is all. How is this possible?"

"Well, my cousin and I have been plannign this for a couple of months ago," Keith explained, leading his mom over to the couch. Haley followed them, sitting opposite of mother and son.

"Your cousin?"

"Aunt Susan's kid," he answered with a shrug at his aunt. "Although I probably shouldn't tell you that. All he was saying when I was preparing to go back was, 'Future consequences this' and 'future consequences that.' Man, that kid can get annoying at times. He is _way_ too serious for an twelve-year-old." Keith slapped his forehead. "Oh, there I go again, giving away future information."

"Why don't you tell us what happened so that we can figure out how to prevent this demon from kidnapping me . . . and you?" Brooke said, glancing down at her stomach before looking towards her adult son. Lucas was right about their child being a boy after all.

Keith nodded. "Okay, well, I don't have all the facts, but I do know that you were kidnapped by two demons when Dad, Aunt Susan, and Uncle Nathan were in the past. The demons were trying to create a diversion by planting thoughts in Uncle Nathan's head, trying to turn him against his brother and sister."

"By telepathy?" Haley asked. "That's pretty much the only way that they can control a witch, especially a Charmed One."

"Yeah, with telepathy," Keith agreed. "One of them is half-witch or something. Anyway, by the time they got back from the past, it was already too late. The demons had you. And they used my powers to resurrect Dan. Nobody ever found out why they wanted—or needed—him alive until a couple of months ago . . ." He trailed off, looking uncertain.

"A few months ago?" Brooke prompted.

Keith took a deep breath. "Nobody expected what was going to happen. Even Uncle Nathan never anticipated them attacking us that day. But Dan had more powers than any of us realised. He had Warren powers that he had inherited, demonic ones that he had assumed when he pledged loyalty to the Underworld, but most of all . . ." He shivered. "Somehow, when he was resurrected by my powers, he managed to take some of my powers for himself. It's the reason why I only have telekinesis and mind healing."

"Mind what?" Brooke wanted to know, puzzled. What the heck was _mind healing_? It certainly wasn't a Warren trait; those were telekinesis, freezing, and premonitions.

"Mind healing," Keith answered. "It's where . . . you're able to heal somebody's spirit and mind through telepathy. It's kind of an advancement of telepathy power."

"So Dan was able to take some of your powers and transfer them to himself?" Haley asked, frowning.

With a nod, Keith continued, "I always wondered how come I didn't have as many powers as my cousins and sisters, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago when you told me about all this that I understood why."

"Oh, honey, your dad and I don't care how powerful you are," Brooke told him. "All we care about is that you grow up happy and healthy." Suddenly, his early sentence caught her attention. "Wait a minute, you have sisters? I have daughters? As in more than one?" She looked at him expectantly and Keith was about to answer when Haley interrupted.

"Do not even think about answering that question, young man," she reprimanded. "We don't need to know any more about the future than is absolutely necessary."

Brooke stuck her tongue out at Haley, disappointed, but Keith nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Aunt Haley," he said. Haley's stern expression softened when she heard the affectionate term. "Well, we got to get Dad, Aunt Susan, and Uncle Nathan back before the demons attack. Because without the Charmed Ones here, you'll be sitting ducks."

"Yeah, but we do have two witches here and a Whitelighter," Haley pointed out. "That should be enough to keep her safe."

"Except my powers don't work in the past," Keith told her. Brooke stared at him. "So technically we only have one witch and one Whitelighter. Where's Uncle Shawn, by the way?"

Brooke shook her head in amazement. "Wait a minute—_Uncle_ Shawn?" she asked. "So Susan and Shawn got married?"

"What exactly did Dan do in the future?" Haley asked, giving Brooke a warning look. "What, did he kill an Innocent that we were supposed to be protecting? Take over the Underworld?"

"Worse," Keith said miserably. "He attacked the manor with about twenty or so Upper Level demons. We managed to vanquish most of them, but not before Dad was killed during the attack." Brooke went dead white at that statement, horror filling through her. "And with his death, the Power of Three was killed as well, allowing demons to take over the world with no one to stop them and Dan as their leader. I know it's a big risk, but my cousins and I managed to trace everything back to this one event. If we can stop this from happening, then Dan never gets resurrected and then Dad lives. It's our only chance, it's our only way to save him." His determined face suddenly turned youthful and afraid.

Brooke, although still trying to get over this shock, hugged her son again. "Don't worry, baby," she whispered, crying by now. "We're gonna save your dad or Dan will have to answer to me."

Keith smiled and hugged her back. "Thanks, Mom," he said, his voice slightly muffled as he had his head buried in his chest. "I love you."

Her heart went out to her little boy—because future or no, her son was still just a boy. And she knew instantly that she loved him, had loved him ever since she found out that she was pregnant. It was the reason her greatest fear was losing him. "I love you, too, sweetie." She kissed his forehead and he made a face, wrinkling his nose up at her. But he was grinning.

"So who exactly is this demon that is after you and Brooke?" Haley wanted to know, breaking up the mother/son moment.

"Uh, I don't about his partner," Keith answered, "but the guy in charge is masquerading as some inspector. You guys are supposed to have had some trouble with him in the past. Inspector Anderson?"


	31. The Circle Rejoined

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Thirty-one: The Circle Rejoined

"What did you just call me?" Elizabeth asked as she looked towards Susan, her blue-green eyes wide with astonishment. Lucas silently cursed his sister, who was gaping at the seventeen-year-old version of her mother. But he could kind of understand her amazement. Who would have guessed that her mother would be on the _Titanic_ and more importantly, that they would be meeting up with her?

"I . . . uh . . ." Susan stammered, looking helplessly towards Nathan and Lucas. She took a deep, unsteady breath. "I thought that you were my mom for a second. Sorry."

Elizabeth studied her critically. "Well, anyone could make a mistake, I guess," she said, frowning. Without a second glance at her future daughter, Elizabeth looked back at Leah. "I see that you've found your cousins. Glad to see that everything turned out all right."

"Thank you for delivering Nathan safely here, Elizabeth," Leah said graciously. "You'd better get back down. No doubt your father and brother will be worrying about you. Give my best to them, won't you?" she asked, hugging the younger woman.

"Don't worry, I will," Elizabeth said lightly. "Pleasure to meet you three," she added as she headed past Susan and walked out the door. Susan stared after her and seemed to come to her senses as she looked back at her brother.

"Nathan—" she began, but she couldn't think of anything to say. Her brother raised his head to look at her inquiringly. "The three of us have to get back to our own time as soon as we can. But first we have to vanquish the demon that sent you here."

"Great, just one more chance for you two to start again with the demon vanquishing while I get left behind just for the reason that I don't have an active power," Nathan snarled, standing up and walking away from them.

"What are you _talking_ about, Nate?" Lucas asked furiously, staring at his brother. "Just because you don't have an active power doesn't mean that you're useless in a battle."

Nathan looked back at him. "Yeah, give me one thing that you guys think that I'm good for besides a Power of Three spell?" he replied coldly.

Lucas opened his mouth a few times, then closed it, unable to believe the way his brother was behaving. This wasn't like Nathan and all three of them knew it.

Susan finally broke the silence. "What is wrong with you, Nathan?" she said in a loud and furious voice. "You're acting like we're the bad guys here! You are _great_ in battle, okay? Even if you don't have an active power, that doesn't mean you're useless. Besides, you can see what demon that we're up against before we even find out about. Sometimes you can prevent deaths from occurring by your premonitions. It's an amazing power."  
"She's right, Nate," Lucas agreed. "Think how many Innocents we would have lost if you hadn't foreseen that a demon was after them. Every premonition that you get is a warning, is an Innocent that we can save and alter the said event."

"It's an amazing power that many witches would love to have," Susan told him, walking over to her brother. He didn't back away from her, but nor did he look as though he believed either one of his siblings. With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around her brother. "We don't just need you for the Power of Three, Nathan," she assured him. "We need you because you're our brother and we love you. Haley needs you because you're her husband. And our nephew will need his uncle as soon as he's born."

Nathan stared at her and something flickered behind his eyes, something that Lucas and Susan distinctively saw. He closed his eyes and gave a shuddering breath. When he opened them again, he was their brother again.

Leah, who had been watching this interaction without interruption, finally spoke. "I had a feeling that he was being controlled by something when Elizabeth brought here. Forgive me for asking, but did you say 'the Power of Three'?"

"Oh, boy," Susan muttered, running a hand through her dark hair. She looked towards her brothers. Nathan was still looking a little wary and afraid, so she pushed him into a seat.

"Then you three would be the Charmed Ones, right?" Leah asked, an astonished look crossing her face. Before any of them could even try to deny this fact, she smiled broadly. "My god . . . I'm in the presence of the Charmed Ones. Oh, I never thought that I'd see the day." She looked at Susan. "Then Elizabeth . . . she really is your mother?"

Susan sighed. "You know, I probably shouldn't say anything. Shawn, our Whitelighter, said that it's not good to give information. It could have repercussions on future events."

Their ancestor gave a nod of understanding. "Yes, yes, of course, you're quite right there," she agreed. "But how is it that you got here, Nathan?" she asked. The youngest Charmed One looked up at her. "I mean, your brother and sister obviously cast a spell to get here—"

"A time travel demon sent him through a portal," Lucas answered. "As far as we know, he should be on board here. Demon by the name of Valtarian."

"Right," Susan said, suddenly businesslike. "So the plan is to vanquish him, get back to our own time, figure out who sent him after us and then we show them not to cross paths with the Charmed Ones."

Nathan chuckled. "We do make a good team, don't we?" he asked, looking up at his brother and sister. Susan smiled at him, sitting down next to him and placing an arm around his shoulders.

"Of course we do, Nate," she said gently. "Look, you know that we think you're strong on your own. Each of us is strong on our own, in our own way. But together, we are at our strongest. We have a bond, Nathan, we were brought together by witchcraft. Being witches keeps us together."

"No," Nathan said, shaking his head. "You were the one who brought us together, Sue. I mean, Luke and I . . . we were brothers, but we never formed this close of a bond until you came along." He took a deep breath, trying to find the words.

"You're the thread that binds all of us together," Lucas said, helping his brother say what he felt. "Not just for me and Nate, but for Brooke and Haley and my son, when he comes."

"So what happened?" Susan inquired, glancing sideways towards Nathan after she grinned furiously at her brothers' compliment.

Nathan sighed. "I'm not exactly sure," he admitted. "I just—it felt as though someone was controlling me, getting inside my mind . . . at first I thought it was Brooke, working on controlling her powers again," he added, looking up at Lucas. "But the mind-voice wasn't Brooke's."

"Had to be the demon who hired Valtarian," Lucas suggested, giving Susan a sideways look. "I guess you were right about that, Sue."

"How'd you guys get here, anyway?" Nathan asked, frowning. "I mean—you didn't follow me through the time portal did you? Thought it closed right after I was flung through it. Man, that was so much fun," he sighed, rubbing his arm that had been grazed by the energy ball.

Susan's gaze fixed upon her brother's injury. "We'll have to have Shawn or Haley heal that for you when we get back," she said, taking a look at it. "Doesn't look too serious, though. As for how, we got here, we cast a spell in order to get back here."

"Yeah, let me tell you, Sue," Lucas said with a grin, "you should stick with making potions and leave the spell-writing to us. Because that spell that you wrote _sucked_."

The look that the second-born Charmed One gave him was enough for him to have the sense to duck before she hit him. She barely missed him and Nathan stifled his laughter.

"Well, how are we going to vanquish this demon?" Leah asked. "The Book is back at our house in North Carolina—"

Lucas pulled out a spell out of his back pocket. "Got a spell right here, Mrs. Halliwell," he said. "Requires the Power of Three. If you can handle the summoning spell, we'll vanquish him."

Leah nodded, taking the piece of paper he handed him just as a loud crying emerged from the bedroom. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said apologetically as she hurried to the bedroom. "Just let me tend to Grace real fast. Won't take but a few minutes."

Giving each other looks, the Charmed Ones followed her to find her hushing a crying baby girl and rocking her back and forth. "Is that Grace?" Lucas asked as he looked at the little girl.

"Yes, our pride and joy," Leah said with a smile. "I take it that you three are descended from her?" She needed no answer to this, from the look on her face. "What year are you from, anyway?" she asked as she turned away from them.

"Uh, 2006," Susan answered, looking down at Grace interestedly. "And Grace is our . . . what, our great-great grandmother, Luke?"

"Yeah," Lucas answered. "Do you mind?" he asked Leah. "I'm going to be a father soon and I should probably get some practice."

"Not at all," Leah smiled. "Careful, watch her head," she warned as Lucas slipped his arms underneath the little girl. Immediately, the baby quieted, her blue eyes fixed upon the identical ones of her great-great grandson.

"He's good at that," Nathan muttered to Susan, who nodded as she looked at her older brother.

_He's going to make a great father,_ she thought with a smile. _Both him and Brooke are going to make _great_ parents. Their child is going to be so loved. _

"That's it, Lucas," Leah said, smiling at him. "You're a natural at being a father. See? She's already back asleep." Lucas nodded and gently laid her back into the crib. "All right, let's get this over with, before she wakes up again."

"Good idea," Susan said, looking at her great-great grandmother one last time as they filed back into the entrance room. The sooner that they vanquished the demon, the sooner they could get back to their own time and figure out this mess.

The moment that Leah locked the door to prevent anyone from entering, she read out the spell.

"_Demon of time and space,_

_who hides within this place._

_Come to these witches' sight,_

_in this time and night."_

"You're right, Lucas, your sister really does need to work on her spells," Leah said warily as the demon who had attacked before appeared in a swirl of black mists.

Susan scowled at her as she and her brothers wasted no time in chanting the spell to vanquish the demon Valtarian, who had powered up an energy ball.

_"Evil being within our sight,_

_now be vanquished by our light._

_Defeated by the Power of Three,_

_so let it be_."

Before the demon could even launch the attack, he was engulfed by the flames and vanquished. "You know, I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of them cleaning up after themselves," Nathan remarked, looking around at his brother and sister.

"Yeah," Susan agreed, looking at Leah. "We should probably get back to our own time, though, because the demon who sent him is probably going to find out that we vanquished him very soon. But thank you so much, for all of your help." She hugged the woman tightly, who was surprised but not displeased by the gesture.

"Work on your spells, dear," Leah warned her. "Potions can only take you so far in this craft."

"We'll help her on that," Lucas assured her. "And take care of our great-great grandmother, won't you?"

Leah nodded with a smile. "I still can't believe it," she said lightly. "I've seen the Charmed Ones. Good witches of strength and valour. Don't ever lose that. And Nathan," she added. "Be patience, lad. Premonitions are a great gift indeed and you will have an active power one day. I can see it."

Nathan smiled. "Thanks, Grams," he said honestly. "I'm not very good with patience, but I'll try."

"Maybe that's something _we_ can help you with," Susan said teasingly. Nathan swatted her and she smiled broadly. "Good to have you back, little brother."

"And Lucas . . ." Leah added, looking towards her eldest great-great-great grandson. "Take care of that little boy of yours. A child can bring more joy to your heart than you can imagine."

Lucas nodded. "I'll take care of my son and my siblings and my wife and sister-in-law," he said firmly.

Leah laughed. "I have faith that you will, my son. You will." She smiled as the siblings read aloud the spell to return.

"_Everything has a time,_

_and everything a place._

_Return where we have been moved,_

_throughout time and space."_

(AN: This is a variation of a spell from "That '70's Episode")

There was a shimmer of lights and then the siblings were gone. Leah smiled as she watched them gone, a glimmer of tears in her eyes. _The future is bright indeed,_ she thought.


	32. Trapped in the Past

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Thirty-two: Trapped in the Past

Nathan knew something was wrong the moment that they cast the spell. At first, it seemed as though the spell had worked, but then . . . then, there was this block and it felt as though he had hit a wall and then he was flung back to the floor in their ancestor's suite, Lucas and Susan beside him.

"Ow!" Susan grumbled. "Luke, get off me." Their brother had landed on top of Susan. "What the heck just happened?" she asked as Lucas got off of her and she got to her feet.

"Good question," Leah remarked, looking startled at seeing them back there. "Where did you three go?"

"Well, we were standing here and then we hit . . . some kind of block and then we were just standing here," Nathan said warily, scratching his head. "How could we have messed it up? It's a Power of Three spell; those _never_ mess up."

"Don't blame me, Lucas wrote that one," Susan said hastily as Nathan looked towards her accusingly. "Besides, if the spell didn't work, then it wouldn't have worked at all."

"She's right," Lucas said slowly. "Something must have blocked us purposely. There is someone either in the future or the past that doesn't want us to return to our own time." He looked at Leah. "How long we were gone, anyway?"

"Only about ten seconds," Leah answered, rubbing her forehead. "So maybe we should try and figure out who the demon who sent Valtarian is and then try and get some information out of them. At least then, we'd know how to get you three home."

"Probably is that we haven't any idea who he is or even if he's here now in this time," Susan pointed out. Nathan sighed, pacing back and forth as he walked across the living room.

"Nate, calm down, all right, you're not going to do anybody any good working yourself up," Lucas told him as he walked over and grabbed Nathan by the arm in order to stop him.

Instantly, Nathan was thrown into a premonition. He saw Inspector Anderson holding Brooke and chanting a spell. The words were unable to decipher, but he could see that it wasn't anything good. There was a series of flames and smoke and Brooke was screaming. Then next thing he saw, a man was stepping away from the flames as they died away.

A man that he knew very well, for Nathan had known him since the day that he was born and had lived under his roof for seventeen years and had nearly turned out to be like him. His father . . .

The minute that he came out of his premonition, Nathan found his sister at his side, staring at him worriedly. "Nathan, what is it?" she asked anxiously. "What'd you see?"

Leah, too, was looking at him in concern. Nathan could only think of what he face showed from the premonition and realised very suddenly that he was short of breath. Shaking and taking deep breaths, he sat down onto the couch.

"I know who the demon is, you guys," he whispered, "and what they want by sending us here. They must've known you guys would come after me. They had to have. Because they wouldn't have sent me here if they wanted us. It's not us that they're after, it's Brooke. Brooke and your baby, Luke," he said, looking up at his brother. Lucas froze at his brother's words. "They want to use his powers to resurrect Dan. I just saw it."

"_Dan_?" Susan said incredulously. "But—but—but—but that's impossible! Dan's dead! People are supposed to stay dead, aren't they?" Her blue-green eyes were wide and fearful as she looked at both her brothers. "Oh, god, how can this be happening?"

Lucas had remained perfectly still after his brother's speech and didn't answer his sister. "They have us trapped here, with no way to warn Brooke," he whispered.

"Who was the demon, Nathan?" Leah asked as Susan walked forward, hugging her brother so to comfort him. Lucas was shaking underneath her touch, Nathan saw. He could only imagine what his brother must be feeling; he couldn't have stood it if it were Haley in danger, and his own child. "Did you recognise him?"

"Oh, yeah," Nathan said, sighing. "And you guys aren't going to believe it, either," he added, looking at his brother and sister.

--

"I don't believe it," Haley whispered, staring at her nephew. "Inspector Anderson, a demon? How could that be possible? He's a real piece of work, sure, but—"

"Haley, I knew that there was something off about him the moment that I saw him, at Keith's wake," Brooke said slowly, remembering the first time she had laid eyes upon the inspector who had seemed to have a particular interest in the Scott siblings. "But I could have never expected that he'd be after my baby and be a demon."

"Well, he is," Keith said bitterly. "Mom, we have to get Dad, Aunt Susan, and Uncle Nathan back here now, before he attacks. Otherwise, we're going to be sitting ducks."

Before Brooke could respond to this statement, there was a series of orbs appearing in the living room and Shawn materialised. "Okay, I found out some stuff about the Valtarian demon that might be helpful. Who is he?" he said, suddenly spotting Keith.

"Shawn, this is my son Keith," Brooke said with a grin, placing her hand onto her son's shoulder. Keith smirked at his uncle as his mouth opened wide and he gawked at him. "What did the Elders say?"

"Uh . . ." Shawn shook his head as to clear it. "Well, apparently, Susan and her brothers are back in 1912, on the _Titanic_," he said. "Valtarian followed them and they'll have vanquished him. But they should have been back here by now. Something has to be wrong."

"It's the Inspector dude," Keith explained. "His partner cast a spell so that they won't be able to get back here. She's back in 1912, so they'll have to bind her powers and cast a Power of Three spell in order to break the spell and get back here."

The Whitelighter stared at him. "Okay, how do you know all of that?"

"That's what happened in the future," Keith said with a shrug. "That's why I came back here, to prevent them from kidnapping Mom."

Shawn looked from Keith to Brooke, who sighed loudly. "Don't ask, Shawn, it has been a _very_ long evening." She glanced down at her watch and made an aggravated noise. "And it's only been an hour and a half since they left to go find Nathan. Great."

"And it's just about to get worse," a familiar voice spoke up. Brooke whirled around, shielding her son as she spotted Inspector Anderson standing in the foyer. "I've been waiting a long time for this day, Miss Davis," he said, taking a step towards her. "A very long time. And one way or another, I'll be leaving with you and your son. Pretty soon, we'll have a witch powerful enough to challenge the Source. And then, when the Power of Three is destroyed, we'll be able to challenge the world."

--

"Inspector Anderson?" Lucas exploded, stalking across the room. "How is this possible? Aren't demons supposed to look like demons and witches supposed to look like witches? How come They keep changing the rules on us?" he demanded, gesturing his head upward.

"We can worry about that one later," Susan replied, fighting to keep herself from sounding forlorn. "Right now, I'm more worried about how we're supposed to get back home to help Brooke."

"Well, at least I can work on my history homework," Nathan said, only half-joking. This made him receive incredulous glares from both his brother and sister.

"Nathan, do you think this is _funny_?" Susan snapped. "Not only are we stuck on a doomed ship, we're stuck in the _past_." She started pacing across the room, starting to work herself into a panic.

Leah stared at her descendant in shock. "Wait a minute, Susan," she interrupted. Her great-great-great granddaughter stopped pacing in order to look at her. "What are you talking about, a _doomed_ ship? This is the _Titanic_, the unsinkable ship! It's why my husband bought tickets on it."

"Look, Grams, I really think that that is the least of our worries right now," Lucas said, trying to intervene.

But Leah only looked at him. "The ship's going to sink, isn't it? Sometime during the maiden voyage?" she asked warily. The siblings looked at each other. "I _knew_ I shouldn't have listened to Jon about this ship. When am I ever going to learn?"

"Nate, was there anything else in your vision that might help in getting us back to our own time?" Lucas asked, trying to steer the conversation to safer waters.

"Lucas, it's not like I exactly have these premonitions on record," Nathan grumbled. "I can't press play and see them again." He shook his head and Lucas gave him a look. "Sorry. No, I didn't see anything, other than Anderson chanting a spell and using Brooke and the baby and resurrecting Dan. And a fat load of help that is," he grumbled.

Susan had resumed pacing, but suddenly stopped, comprehension dawning on her face. "Nathan, by any chance, was the voice that was controlling you male or female?" she asked, looking at her brother. There was something of understanding in her blue-green eyes.

"Uh . . ." Nathan peered at her, confused by her question. "It was female, as a matter of fact. That's why I thought it was Brooke at first. Why do you want to know?"

"Because you said that you cast a spell so that only Warren witches would be allowed on here," Susan said, looking towards Leah, who nodded. "So what if some witch is on here, preventing us from leaving? And telepath is a witch power, but more importantly, it's Brooke's power."

"What exactly are you getting at?" Lucas wanted to know. Leah, too, was looking confused.

"Okay, what if it's not a demon?" Susan asked them quietly. "What if it's a witch who has us trapped here, one whose working with Anderson? A witch of our line, from the future?"

There was a moment of silence before both Lucas and Nathan burst out laughing. "Susan, that's crazy!" Nathan said, shaking his head. "Why would anybody from our family try and work for evil?"

"Why did Dan?" Susan looked at her brothers quickly. "All right, what if something more happened in your vision, Nate? What if they took Luke's baby to raise as evil? And that they came back from the future to ensure that it would happen?"


	33. Not One, Not Two, But Three

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Thirty-three: Not One, Not Two, But Three

"That's not possible!" Lucas yelled, furious at his sister for even suggesting such a thing. "How could you think that, Susan? A demon can't be after my son! And even if they were," he added reasonably, "we'd be able to save him before they turned him against us."

"Oh, Luke," Susan whispered, taking his hand. "I'm sorry, but I don't see any other explanation for this. Who else but one of our children, the offspring of the Charmed Ones, would be able to counteract a Power of Three spell?"

"And since Brooke is a telepath, it would make sense that her child would be the one trying to turn me against you guys through telepathy," Nathan said reasonably.

Lucas rounded on him, furious. "Don't tell me that you agree with her!" he yelled. "Nathan, this is crazy! Even if it is true," he added brokenly, "how come we could protect my son?"

"I don't know, Luke," Susan whispered. "But there's probably a reason why I never saw your son when I went to the future with Uncle Keith. Which means, there's a reason for this, too. But it hasn't happened yet, remember? We still have time to fix it."

Looking at her, Lucas knew she was right. Dropping his head into his hands, he nodded mutely.

"Do you think he's still on here?" Leah inquired. "Because we have to work fast in order to find him."

"Probably," Susan agreed. "But we have to work up a plan before we go and confront him, because he'll be expecting us. He'll _have_ to be expecting us. So, anybody got any ideas on how we're gonna stop him? Because I doubt that any of us is willing to vanquish him." She looked around at her family, past and present. "Any ideas?"

"Well, can't we not vanquish him, just maybe . . . strip his powers from him or something?"

"A binding spell!" Leah agreed. "It's a perfect idea. There's a simple enough spell and I think I have enough ingredients around here to make a potion if that won't work."

"Okay, you and Lucas work on that, Susan and I will go hunt around the ship and see if we can find this nephew of ours," Nathan suggested, already heading towards the door.

"Be careful," Leah warned him. "You don't know what you're up against and your emotions might get in the way of your judgement with this one."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Susan muttered, remembering how she hadn't wanted to kill Dan at first. But in the end, she knew that they had to, to protect future witches and Innocents from him. "Okay, so Luke, just call me when you guys are ready, all right?"

"All right," Lucas said. Some colour had returned to him now that he knew they weren't going to vanquish his son.

Susan smiled gently at him and looked towards Nathan. "Let's go, Nate." She followed him out the door and into the hallway. They searched through the enormous ship, Nathan using his premonition power to try and see their nephew and Susan using her Whitelighter powers to try and sense him.

"I'm not getting _anything_, how about you?" Nathan grumbled with a sigh as they reached the bow of the ship. Susan shook his head. "Great, so we've gotten nowhere." He flung himself onto the railing, leaning against it furiously. "So now what? We can't very well bind his powers unless we find him."

"Yeah," Susan muttered. She walked over to Nathan and stood next to him, trying to make sense of this. "You know, Nate, I'm starting to think that we're going at this all wrong, maybe we have from the beginning."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, how come I didn't see our nephew in the future? Why wasn't he there, when I went there and saw your kids and my son and Luke's daughters? It doesn't make sense, for him not to be there. I mean, he was already conceived by the time I went there. Brooke was barely pregnant with him, but he was conceived." Susan sighed. "So how come I didn't?"

"Probably like premonitions, Sue. Unfortunately, you don't see everything, just enough to change things. Or in that case, show what could be."

"But how could Anderson just take Lucas's baby without us even attempting a pursuit? Surely, if we pursued it, we would have found them?"

"Maybe we did, but it was too late to change it," Nathan argued. "I mean, as much as I would like to, we can't change everything. I couldn't change my premonition of Keith dying. I couldn't stop Shawn from taking that knife for you, even though that turned out okay."

"I don't think that's the reason, Nate." Susan sighed and looked away from him. "I think that we managed to save Luke's son . . . but maybe not his daughter."

Nathan went still and slowly turned his head to face hers. "You don't think . . ." he breathed, realisation of what she meant dawning in his eyes. "Sue, you can't mean that . . ." She nodded dully, not looking at him. "There's two of them?" he demanded, his voice hoarse. "Brooke's pregnant with not one child, but two?"

"Now that I think about, his elder daughter Peyton was older than your son," Susan said, thinking back. "I've never really been good at ages, anyway, Nate. So if I'm right, then we never realised that in the future, there were two. Maybe Brooke was held captive until she gave birth and they took one of the children so that there would be no pursuit. Or they transferred one of the babies to some demon's womb."

"And Keith showed you Peyton so that we could do something about it," Nathan said slowly. "This time, we could have saved her." He made a grunting sound. "You guys never should have come after me!"

"Nathan—"

"No, you guys would still be in the future, safe, able to protect Brooke if you had just stayed there!" Nathan yelled.

"No, we wouldn't," Susan snapped. "Because we wouldn't be able to protect her without the Power of Three, Nate! And we couldn't have left you there because we didn't know about all of this until we came here. We couldn't have known that it was Brooke they were after," she whispered. "We _couldn't_ have known."

Her little brother made a small noise. "I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to them," he whispered. "All three of them, if you're right."

"I know that I'm right, Nate," Susan said with a small smile, embracing her brother. "I know I am."

But what she didn't tell him was that when she saw the children, she had originally thought Wyatt was older. But what if she wasn't entirely wrong? Peyton and Wyatt could have been the same age and if she was right, then her older brother wasn't the only one who was going to be a father.

Oh, no, she was pretty sure that her little brother was going to be a daddy too. It was only a matter of finding everything out when they got back home. But right now, they had a niece to save.

"Think you can try focusing on our niece?" Nathan asked her now. Susan nodded, letting out a deep breath and focusing on the little girl she had seen in the future. The beautiful blonde little girl that looked so much like her brother.

"Got her," Susan whispered just as it suddenly seemed much colder, even for winter on the Atlantic and a shadow passed over them. "She's in the third class section."

"Look out!" someone shouted towards them. "It's gonna hit!" Susan looked up and saw an iceberg emerging over them.

Nathan swore, grabbed Susan and pulled her away from the danger. She felt the ship shudder and knew that everything was changing. They were trapped in the past, on a sinking ship, and time was starting to run out.

--

"Look, mister, I don't care who you think you are, but you sure aren't taking my sister-in-law anywhere!" Haley snarled, brown eyes furious as they looked towards the demon.

Anderson's eyebrows rose delicately. "Last time I checked, she wasn't your sister-in-law just yet, Mrs. Scott," he said patiently. "Now, just step aside, Whitelighter, you don't want to break that pacifist clause, now do you?"

"Well, it's a good thing that I never signed that pledge," Haley retorted, but her heart was fluttering with fear. They were definitely at a disadvantage here. He had powers that could harm while she and Shawn had only powers that could heal. Keith didn't have his powers right now and Brooke . . . well, she was the only one with powers and she was exposing the baby right now.

"Hmm, I always thought that was a requirement," Anderson smirked. "Well, let's see if you can handle these boys," he said waving his hands and black orbs appeared and two Darklighters appeared. "Take care of the Whitelighters. I'll take care of the witch."

"Over my dead body," Keith growled, moving in front of his protective mother. "You're gonna have to get through me."

Anderson glanced at him as though he were no more than a speck of dust. "Boy, if you want to challenge me, you'd better do it when you're a bit older," he informed him.

Keith glared at him, about to retort, when he saw a Darklighter arrow heading towards his aunt. "Aunt Haley, look out!" he shouted.

All attention turned towards the Whitelighter, who whirled around at the sound of it. Just before the arrow made contact, a blue shield appeared around her, forcing the arrow back towards its caster. The Darklighter screamed as it was engulfed in flames and was vanquished.

"WHAT?!" Anderson was looking at Haley in some kind of horror while Keith stared at her, realisation flying through him.

His cousin was only a couple months younger than he was. His mom wasn't the only one who was pregnant in this time. There was not one offspring of the Charmed Ones on the way, but two.

But Keith never could have imagined that there was another child. There was a third child. His twin sister . . .


	34. We Fight

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Thirty-four: "We fight"

Before the demon could recover from his shock, Keith ran forward and tackled him from behind, planting a good punch to his head. "RUN!" he barked, grabbing his mother's hand and running upstairs to the attic. Shawn and Haley were right behind them. As soon as they were safely in the attic, Haley shut it behind them, locking it securely.

"What was that?" Brooke demanded, looking awe-struck towards the Whitelighter. "Since when do Whitelighters have shields, anyway? You guys are supposed to be pacifists."

"We don't have shields," Shawn said, running his hand through his brown hair. "But it's a fair question."

"It wasn't Aunt Haley, that was my cousin," Keith informed them. He leaned against the door, trying to hear for any movements downstairs. "We have to find a way to get Dad, Aunt Susan, and Uncle Nathan back now, otherwise there isn't going to be much of a future to save. So any ideas?"

"No," Brooke said, shaking her head. "But we're gonna have to come up with something fast," she added, using her telepathy to sense Anderson. He wasn't awake just yet, but he was nearing consciousness. "And I mean really, really fast."

"We could orb out of here," Shawn suggested. "Go someplace crowded so that he wouldn't attack."

Keith shook his head, shooting down that idea. "Even if we did that, it won't get them back here. And we're gonna need the Power of Three to protect Mom and me." He was looking pale and afraid. "I think we need to go back to 1912; that way we'll be with them."

"Are you out of your mind?" Haley demanded. "It's bad enough that three—four people are out of their time, but we can't keep time travelling and risk screwing up the balance."

"Well, if you have a better idea, then you had better say so," Keith said, frowning at her. "Because I'm out of ideas."

Haley looked at her nephew, then at Brooke. "We fight," she said quietly. "Brooke, cast a spell to prevent anyone from materialising on the grounds. That way more demons can't shimmer in. I'm gonna try and see if I can channel my baby's power and after you cast that spell, Brooke, you try and do the same. Shawn," she added, turning to her fellow Whitelighter, "go Up There and ask the Elders if they have any way of getting the siblings back here _now_. Because we're not going to be able to hold them off for long." Without any argument, Shawn orbed out and Haley turned to Keith. "So," she said, "what exactly are your cousin's powers?"

--

Susan scrambled to her feet, staring up at the huge iceberg that was hovering over them. Ice lay everywhere on the deck. Behind her, she heard Nathan let out a curse that made her wince. "Nathan, language, please," she said, barely even able to keep her voice from shaking.

Nathan shook his head disbelieving. "Susan, we're trapped on a sinking ship and you're worried about me using foul language?"

"Never mind," Susan grumbled. "Let's get back to the compartment, see if Luke and Leah have finished that potion." Nathan nodded as they hurried up through the corridors. People were already coming outside to see what had caused the crash.

Lucas had come outside of the corridor, looking around at the other folk. His face brightened when he saw them. "Come on, hurry up, we've almost got the potion done," he said, hurrying them into the suite. "We just need one last thing. You find him?"

"No, we found her," Susan said brightly. Lucas blinked, looking from her to Nathan. She looked towards her younger brother. "You want to explain it to him or should I?"

"Explain what?"

"Well, Susan has a theory and I think she's right," Nathan said with a sideways glance at his sister. "She thinks that Brooke is pregnant with _twins_. It would explain why she didn't see your son in the future, but she saw your daughter. Which means that they took one of the twins—in this case, the girl—and raised her as evil." He gave a weak grin at the look on his brother's face. "So what do we need for that potion?"

"Are two kidding me?" Lucas half-yelled at Nathan. Whatever Leah had done to calm him down was gone now. "How could Brooke be pregnant with _twins_?"

Nathan and Susan looked at each other, then at their brother. "Well, you see, Luke," Susan said in an innocent voice, "when a man and a woman fall in love—"

"Oh, I know _that_," Lucas scoffed, giving her a warning look. Nathan stifled a laugh and received a glare from Lucas too. "Okay, we are seventeen, how am I supposed to take care of two kids while I'm still in high school?" He swore under his breath and Susan refrained from saying anything. Her brother didn't look like he needed a reprimanding.

"Well, let's worry about that one later, all right, Luke?" she said gently, guiding him back towards where Leah was stirring the bubbling potion.

"So what exactly is the last ingredient?" Nathan wanted to know. "There's not like a herbalist store on board or something, is there?"

Leah laughed. "Oh, no, no, of course not," she said with a smile. "We're not going to take any chances with this child of yours, Lucas, which is why we're going to use a Power of Three potion. You three are going to have to bless it."

"Hmm, okay. Uh . . . how exactly are we going to bless a potion?" Nathan wanted to know.

"You three haven't been doing this for very long, have you?" Leah asked. She was smiling warily at him.

"No, we just got our powers a couple of months ago," Susan told her. "How are we going to bless it?"

"With your blood," Leah said, biting her lip. She handed a knife to Lucas, who pricked his index finger lightly before handing the knife to Nathan, who did the same. However, when he handed the knife to Susan, she shook her head.

"Don't even think about handing that knife to me, Nate," she warned him. "I can't stand the sight of blood."

"Susan, are you out of your mind?" Nathan said incredulously. "Demons have blown up in our attic—"

"Disintegrated into dust before our very eyes," Lucas added. Susan shifted uncomfortably at her brothers' bantering, not looking at them. "And you are afraid of a little blood?" He raised his eyebrows as he looked at his sister, who made a face.

"Oh, for goodness sake," she grumbled, holding her hand out to her brother. "Just do it." She kept her gaze fixed away from her hand as Nathan handed the knife back to Lucas. Taking it, Lucas cut his sister's hand very gently, but she still jumped. "OW!"

Nathan chuckled, his dark blue eyes filled with mirth. His sister glared at him as they allowed a few drops of blood to be added to the cauldron. Immediately, smoke began rising from it and it gurgled. "Okay, I'd say it's done."

Leah poured some of the potion into vials. "Never hurts to have some extra," she said, handing one to each of the siblings. "Now, let's go find this child of yours, Lucas." She began striding towards the door.

"No, you need to stay here, Leah," Susan said, stopping her. "This is our responsibility and besides, you need to get to a boat as fast as you can. If you come with us, there's a pretty good chance that you won't make it back here in time and neither will Grace. So, please, just let us handle this."

"I can't allow you three to do this by yourselves," Leah protested. "Charmed or not."

"Yeah, but you're supposed to survive, to take care of Grace and raise her in the witchy ways," Nathan said with a grin. "We'll take care of our niece, you take care of your daughter. 'Cause if she doesn't survive, then we don't have a future anyway."

Leah hesitated, but reluctantly submitted. They were right, after all. "Well, very well," she said with a sigh. She gave each of them a hug. "Just try and get out of here before the ship sinks, all right? How long do we have, anyway?"

"Not long, a couple of hours," Susan answered. Her blue-green eyes were looking sorrowful. "I wish there was more that we could do, to save the people aboard."

"It doesn't get any easier, knowing about something and being unable to prevent it," Leah said gently. "That's the awful truth that witches like myself and Nathan have to learn. But don't mess with the past, especially when you know there's nothing you can do. Just protect the future."

"See you, Grams," Nathan said as they headed out of the suite. The door opened before they got there and a man that was the spitting image of Nathan entered. His jaw dropped open when he saw the siblings.

"What the—" he began and saw his wife standing there. "Leah? What's going on?"

"Later, Jon," she told him. Her gaze returned to the siblings. "You three, go, and hurry. And stick together!" she added as they left.

"Who are those kids?" Nathan heard his great-great-great grandfather ask as they left.

"Our great-great-great grandchildren from the future," Leah answered as the door shut behind him and his siblings.

"So where's this daughter of mine?" Lucas wanted to know. Susan sensed for her niece and found her the same place that she was before, down in the third class area. She led the way through the ship, ignoring the ship members who were shouting for people to get their life boats on and then get up to the boat deck. They had other things to worry about.


	35. Dawsons of Past and Future

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Thirty-five: Dawsons of Past and Future

Susan led the way through the corridor, heading down towards the third level. It didn't take her long to realise that she couldn't seem to walk in a straight line due to the fact that the ship was no longer balanced. Keeping her gaze fixed upon the people that were hurrying through the corridors in case she saw her niece amongst them, Susan tried sensing for her again.

"Okay, she's somewhere close," Susan said at last, turning to her brothers. "I just can't pinpoint her exact location."

"Maybe we should split up, find her faster," Nathan suggested. His dark blue gaze was flittering around the room, searching for the blonde haired little girl. "Hey, Sue, do you think you could show me what you saw when you went to the future?"

"Sure." Susan reached for his hand and concentrated on her everything that she had seen that day. Lucas's two little girls . . . Nathan's son and daughter . . . and her own son.

Nathan's face instantly twisted into the one he always had on his face whenever he got a premonition. Then his eyes opened and he smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks, sis," he said quickly before heading off.

Lucas sighed as he looked towards his sister, brushing a hand through his blond hair. "All right, well, I'm gonna go take a look around. Just yell if something happens, all right?"

Without waiting for her reply, he furthered himself into the crowd, leaving Susan standing alone. Shaking her head, she walked through the crowd, trying desperately to find her niece. Bumping into a man, she said automatically, "Excuse me," before she even caught a glimpse of the man she had run into.

"Quite all right, miss," the man said with a smile at her. "Easy to run into someone in this crowd." He peered at her closely. "Good gracious!" he exclaimed in a shocked voice. "Lizzie?"

"Excuse me?" Susan asked, a little bit startled. But she looked straight into the man's eyes and she realised that she was staring back into her own blue-green eyes. The eyes that she had inherited from her mother. The _Dawson_ eyes . . . "Sorry, sir, but my name's Susan."

Shaking his head, the man continued to stare at her, a bit perturbed and shocked. When he realised what he was doing, he smiled. "I'm sorry, it's just that you look a great deal like my daughter, Elizabeth. So much, in fact, I could swear that you were related to us."

The only things that ran through Susan's mind were the words 'daughter' and 'Elizabeth.' All at once, she understood. This man wasn't just a Dawson, he was her Grandfather Christopher, whom she had apparently named her future son after.

"It's remarkable," Christopher said, shaking his head in bewilderment. "Quite outstanding. It's as though you could be my daughter."

Susan made a weak laugh as she wondered how she was supposed to get out of this fix. "I could very well be your granddaughter," she said truthfully, then winced at how that would sound.

But her grandfather apparently had a sense of humour, for he let out a burst of laughter. "Oh, my dear, I think that I'm much too young to have a granddaughter your age," he said with a smile. "My Elizabeth is not yet eighteen. And my son is barely even twenty, not old enough to have a daughter as old as . . . how old are you, my dear?"

"Uh . . . seventeen, almost eighteen," Susan said weakly. "I'll be eighteen this June." _If_ she got away from this doomed ship, that was.

"Dad, there you are!"

Both Susan and Christopher turned as a young man around twenty came running towards them. He was tall, nearly as tall as Luke and Nate, with the same blue-green eyes as Susan, her mother, and grandfather. But his curls were lighter than Susan's, a light chestnut colour. Susan's chest tightened when she realised that this had to be her mother's older brother, her Uncle Perry.

"Lad, where have you been?" Christopher said warily, looking around. "Where's your sister?"

Perry shrugged. "You know Lizzie," he commented dryly. "She'd probably stay aboard this submerging ship until the last speck of air was gone if she could help somebody in trouble."

Susan let out a noise. "That's not funny; I don't think that's funny," she told her uncle. Especially now, considering that her mother wasn't supposed to die for another three—four years.

"Better to have a sense of humour in the middle of a crisis than none at all," Perry said, looking at her in some surprise. She wished they would stop doing that. "And who exactly are you?"

"Susan D—Roe," she answered, silently chiding herself. She had almost slipped up and said 'Dawson,' which would lead to more problems than she had time for. "Look, I'm in a bit of a hurry here. You haven't seen a girl around here with long blonde hair and dark eyes, have you?"

"Could you be a bit more specific?" Perry asked impatiently. "There's lots of girls like that around here."

"Okay, she'll kind of look like she doesn't belong here," Susan said in exasperation. "Like she's kind of out of place. And she'll be wearing clothes similar to this," she added, gesturing to her twenty-first century clothes.

Christopher and Perry both exchanged looks. "Oh, _that_ one," Perry said, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, I've seen her. The crazy girl. She's somewhere that way," he told her, pointing towards a direction. "I wouldn't stay down here too long, if I were you, though. Don't know how long it's going to be before everything is underwater."

"Yeah, well, I have to save my family first, Perry," Susan told him quietly. "I'd advice you to do the same. Get your sister to a boat, before it's too late. Drag her into it, if she won't go."

Perry smirked. "I would be glad to obey my lady's wishes," he said with a sweeping bow. "Is there anything else that my lady needs? Humble Perry would be glad to be of service."

Susan fought a laugh, unable to keep the smile from spreading across her face. She couldn't help it; he was quite a character and she didn't mean that in a bad way. "No, Master Perry, I think that would be quite sufficient. But I thank you for your help and assistance."

"But of course," Perry said, smirking. "Anything else my lady needs, please only ask."

This time, Susan couldn't help chuckling as she melted into the crowd again, sensing for her niece again as she headed towards the spot that Perry had indicated. As she stepped further away from the crowd, the noise deafened and soon only an eerie creaking was emerging from the ship.

She glanced back as she walked away, hoping for a last glimpse of her long-dead uncle. Susan remembered her mother talking about him when she was growing up, but never mentioning what had happened to him.

"He died in a tragedy, Susan," Elizabeth would only tell her, "a terrible tragedy."

Susan's heart ached at the thought of Perry not surviving the night. He was so young . . . but she knew in her heart that she couldn't interfere with his destiny. It wasn't her place. But he would have done so much good in this world; she could see it.

Returning her attention to the task at hand, Susan continued onward towards where she sensed her niece.

"Susan!"

"Hi, Nate," Susan said lightly as she sped up. Nathan fell into step behind her. "I think that I've found her. Or at least, my uncle did."

"Our uncle?" Nathan asked, confused. "Sue, you're delusional. Keith's dead, remember? You saw it."

"Uh-huh. I wasn't talking about Uncle Keith, Nathan. I was talking about _my_ Uncle Perry. Mom's brother. Anyway, where's Lucas? I thought he was back there with you."

"He _was_. I can't find him now. You don't think that our lovely niece would try and get rid of her daddy, now do you?"

"After what we've been through, don't go there," Susan said, breaking into a run. Nathan followed suit as they ran through the corridor. Just as Susan felt freezing water pierce through her leg, sending an involuntary shiver up her spine, Nathan let out a curse that she immediately knew had nothing to do with the freezing water they had just encountered.

Because just ahead of them, they saw Lucas diving out of the way to avoid a fireball. Before him was a teenage girl around fifteen with blonde hair that framed a face filled with contempt. Her dark eyes were so much like Brooke's own, yet they had none of her mother's warmth.

Looking around at the newcomers, the teenage girl smirked. "Well, well, it's about time the two of you showed up," she said with a sniff of disdain. "Did you like my little telepathy manipulation, Uncle Natie?" she asked in a singsong voice.

Nathan's mouth turned grim. "No, actually, I didn't much appreciate it, _niece_," he commented.

"Look, kiddo," Lucas said, giving Nathan a 'be careful' look, "can we just talk about this? We really want to help you, but in order to do that, we have to get back to our own time and save your mom."

"What makes you think that I _want_ to be saved?" the girl replied coldly. "And the name's not 'kiddo.' It's—"

"Peyton," Susan finished up for her. Her niece's head swivelled around to look at her. "Peyton Marie Scott."

The girl's mouth twisted into a scowl, giving her an unpleasant look. "How do you know that, _Auntie_?" she demanded, using the affectionate term like an insult.

"Brooke told me that was what she was going to name her firstborn daughter," Susan said quietly. Her blue-green eyes were grave. "And that's what I saw Lucas's eldest daughter's name was when I went to the future." She sighed. "Look, we don't want to have to fight you. You're family and that means you belong here with us."

"We can help you," Lucas said softly, taking his daughter by her shoulders, making her look at him in the eyes. "We want to help you, Peyton. You're my daughter; I love you. But you have to let us go."

"You're the ones who left me in the Underworld to be raised by my wonderful, barbaric grandfather," Peyton said, her eyes like chips of ice. "How can you justify loving me after you did that, _Dad_?"

"We don't know what happened in the future, kid," Lucas told her. "Only what Susan saw when she went there. But if what she and Nathan think happened happened, then there's a pretty good chance that we didn't even know about you. Believe me, past or present or future, I would never let a child of mine be raised by Dan willingly."

Peyton pulled away, her face filled with loathing as she looked at Lucas. "It doesn't matter," she said coldly. "I did fine without you and Mom. And now, I'm going to do what I came here to do. And that's destroy the threat to the future here in the past, before all of your wonderful offspring come in place."

"Nathan, the potion!" Susan yelled as Peyton launched another attack onto Lucas. She knocked her brother to the ground, sending water splashing everywhere.

Sputtering water out of her mouth and feeling the icy water pierce her body again, Susan scrambled to her feet just in time to see her brother throw the potion at their niece. It took the space of about three seconds for the potion to hit, but in that time, the energy ball had hit the wall opposite, sending a wall flying down. Susan looked towards the fallen wall and could only stare in horror as the water came rushing through, dragging her through the corridor, unable to react in time.

_If we live through this,_ Susan thought as she grabbed Lucas's hand as he pulled her into another corridor, followed by Peyton and Nathan, _I will never again doubt the powers of darkness. I'll never again doubt anything is possible. Even one of our children following the path of the dark side. _

"How do we get out?" Nathan demanded, grabbing hold of their niece's arm. She glared at him, yanking free. "Try the spell again?"

"It won't work," Peyton said in a small voice. All of them looked at her. "It's not going to work until after daybreak, after it's too late to save Mom from Anderson. I cast the spell that way."

Lucas uttered an oath and Nathan stared in horror at Peyton. Susan, however, tried to think of a way out. "Come on!" she ordered. "We need to keep going up. We'll have to find another way back to our time. Just have to stay alive long enough to get there."

She led the way up the stairs and through the crowd of waiting passengers. _Brooke, just keep yourself safe until daybreak,_ Susan thought in panic. _Just wait until we get there. Please don't let us be too late. Don't let history repeat itself. _

But Susan had no idea that history was already being altered because of the son of a Charmed One coming back. By his time travelling, he could have changed the future . . . for the worse.


	36. The Future Changed?

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Thirty-six: The Future Changed?

"Guys, be careful," Keith warned his mother and aunt as they crept out of the attic. He was clutching potion vials in his hands as his brown eyes darted this way and that, half-expecting Anderson to come appearing out of nowhere. "No telling where he is."

Brooke nodded, reaching out and pulling her son closer to her. "Stay close to us, honey," she told him, her dark eyes reflecting her fear. Keith smiled, a bit annoyed with her being overprotective, but knowing that she had every right to be.

Peering around the stairs, Haley motioned for them to join her and they walked down the stairs. The demon was nowhere in sight from where they had left him in the living room. "Great, where could he have gone?" she muttered, glancing towards Brooke. "Can you hear him?"

Brooke used her telepathy to find any thoughts others than theirs, but found none. "No," she told her. "Maybe he's gone."

"Well, if he is, he won't be gone long," Keith pointed out. "He'll be back with reinforcements." He swallowed, looking worried. "What is taking them so long to get back from the past? As far as I know, it didn't take them this long before."

Haley gave him a look. "Uh, Keith, that's really not much of a comfort, you know," she told him.

Keith shrugged and looked around again. Haley sighed, running her hand through her light brown hair as she followed her nephew's gaze. "Okay, I'm going to go check the kitchen," she said softly, walking steadily from the living room.

Her hand went over her stomach worriedly and she rubbed it, thinking of the tiny life that now rested inside her womb. She had thought that she'd been overemotional the past few weeks, but hadn't given pregnancy a thought. Probably as a result of being so worried about Nathan lately.

And from the sound of it, their child would be powerful on his own. More than either of them could have ever imagined. That power . . . would have serious consequences and would be incredibly tempting to evil.

What struck Haley later as ironic was just as she was thinking this, Brooke gave a shout from the living room and Keith yelled for her. Without thinking twice, she raced into the living room, tapping into her son's powers. She may not be a witch, but as of now, she _did_ have one's powers.

"Come on, sweetie, don't let Mommy down," she murmured to her son as she flung a demon away with telekinesis. She managed to send a fireball flying towards the demon, vanquishing him, before someone shimmered in behind her.

"Glad to see that the twice-blessed has come into his powers," Anderson sneered as he seized her, shimmering out with her.

Haley gasped as she reappeared in a cave. Immediately, she tried to orb out, but nothing happened. She whirled around to glare furiously at the demon holding her captive.

"Oh, you won't be able to try that little trick here, Mrs. Scott," he told her with a smug look. "Orbing isn't allowed here. We were planning on using your nephew to bring his grandfather back and rule the Underworld, but plans change. And now we're going to use your child. In fact, this is a much better plan. Who better to use than the most powerful being in the universe?"

And that's when Haley knew that she—along with her child—were in much deeper than she knew how to handle.

--

Nathan shoved through the crowd, trying to see what was going on. From the looks of things, they had a gate up, blocking any of the third-class passengers from going up onto higher decks. Silently cursing the stupidity of the crew, he made his way back to his family.

"There's no way to get up there," he said furiously. "They've got the entire way blocked off."

"Well, there has to be some way to get up there," Susan said reasonably. If she was panicked, her calm expression showed no sign of it. Lucas was looking around them for another exit.

"Aunt Susan, this is the seventh exit we've been to," Peyton said, her temper flaring. "I don't think they're going to let any of us up there." The girl's dark eyes were terrified.

Taking a deep breath, Nathan looked towards his niece. "How come you turned back good, anyway? Half an hour ago, you were about ready to kill us."

Peyton looked startled by the question, but shrugged. "I don't know," she said slowly. "I mean, one minute I felt—and thought—completely evil and then the next . . ." She held out her hands, trying to figure out what to say but couldn't.

Susan sighed, running her hands through her dark hair. "I think that the future that she came from changed, Nate," she said quietly. But that didn't seem to comfort her and she let out a deep sigh. "What _else_ is going wrong back home?" she wondered.

"What are you talking about, Sue?" Lucas asked. "If Brooke wasn't kidnapped, then that means we saved the kids from Anderson and Dan—"

Before his brother could even finish that sentence, Nathan was pulled into a premonition. He saw Haley, Brooke, and an unknown boy under attack in the manor. What amazed him was that Haley was using witchcraft powers to defend herself.

But just as she vanquished a demon, Anderson appeared behind her and grabbed hold of her, shimmering out with her.

Nathan had to grab hold of his brother, gasping for breath as he came out of the premonition. "Oh, god, no," he whispered, his voice sounding weak and feeble. "No, no, no. Oh, god, please, no."

Susan grabbed his shoulders, making him face her. "Nathan, what is it?" she demanded, her concern making her voice harsh. He looked at his sister, trembling with fear. "What did you see?"

"Haley," he whispered. "Susan, he's got Haley. The future's being changed. Instead of Brooke, it's Haley they've got. But—but—but how . . . I mean, she's . . . she's not . . ."

"Pregnant?" Peyton said dryly. "Oh, yeah, she is. Our cousin's just a couple of months younger than me and Keith." She gave a smirk that was so reminiscent of her mother's that Nathan had to do a double take.

Susan glanced at her niece, giving her a look. "Okay, sweetie, I really do not think that that's helping any," she told her. She led Nathan over to a bench, helping him to sit down onto it. Nathan felt as though the fear for his wife was engulfing him. For Haley and their unborn child. _Now_ he understood how Lucas had been feeling the past few hours. "Look, Nate, you have to calm down. The only way that we can help Haley is by getting back to our own time. So let's just focus on that, all right?"

Nathan looked up at her and gave a small nod. "Okay," he said, feeling very small at the moment.

"Great," Susan said, looking at Peyton. "Now, are you absolutely sure that you can't reverse the spell? I mean, really, really sure?"

Peyton nodded, looking guilty. "I'm positive," she said. "The spell was only meant to keep you here for a certain amount of time, until it was too late to save Mom. After daybreak, we'll be able to cast a spell to return, but I don't know if that's gonna be enough to rescue Aunt Haley."

Her statement made Nathan go dead white. "Okay, honey, I don't think that's helping any," Lucas told her.

His daughter looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry, Dad," she said quietly. "I really am. For everything."

Lucas sighed. "It's not your fault; it's the demon who kidnapped your mom," he told her gently. "Trust me, kiddo, you're not to blame for any of this."

When Peyton still looked doubtful, Susan put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Listen to your father, honey," she told her with a smile. "Especially when he's right." Peyton gave a small smile then and nodded. "Okay, we need to find a way out of—"

"Open the gates!"

The siblings looked around as the gates opened and people began pushing and shoving to get through, desperate to get as far away from the lower levels of the ship as possible. "Stick together!" Lucas yelled, keeping a hand on his daughter's hand. Peyton hold on to her aunt's, who grabbed her little brother's hand as they joined the crowd heading upwards.

--

"Aunt Haley!" Keith screamed as he watched his aunt shimmer away with one of the demons—Anderson, he assumed. Hurling the potion at the last demon, vanquishing him, he looked wildly around at his mother, who was frozen in shock. "Uncle Shawn!" he yelled. "We need you!"

Almost immediately, the Whitelighter appeared in a swirl of white lights. "What? What's . . . wrong . . . what the heck happened here?" he demanded, taking notice of the damaged furniture. "And where's Haley?" he added.

"She's been kidnapped," Keith said, his voice shaking. How could this have messed up so badly? he wondered as he thought of his younger cousin. Wyatt was one of the most powerful beings in the universe. If Anderson _knew_ that, then . . . then . . . who knew what he would do to his aunt?

"WHAT?!"

Keith ignored his uncle and raced upstairs, his mother at his heels. Bursting into the attic, he started flipping through the Book, trying to find something that could possibly help them. "Please, please, let there be something here," he begged the Powers that Be.

As her son frantically searched through the Book, Brooke turned to the Whitelighter. "Please tell me that the Elders know something," she said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, but it's not good," Shawn said quietly. "Apparently, the witch who had them trapped in the past cast a spell so that they won't be able to leave until daybreak. Which means they're trapped there until after the ship sinks. Which means that we're on our own here."

Keith looked up at his uncle in horror. "Are you freaking kidding me?" he demanded. "That didn't happen in the original history."

"Yeah, well, the future changes with every choice that we make," Shawn told him patiently. "Some choices affect it more than others." He sounded so calm at the moment that Keith wanted to give him a good knock upside the head.

"Can we just focus on saving Haley here?" Brooke asked, her voice strained. "Because if Nathan finds out that we let something happen to his wife and child, then he'll _kill_ us. Literally."

"Yeah, well—" Keith stopped as a blue and white Triquetra sparkled and appeared on the wall. "Okay, what the heck . . .?"

Just as he spoke, a dark haired boy around twelve years old tumbled out of it, landing in the floor in a heap. Keith's eyes widened as he recognised the boy and hurried forward, helping him to his feet.

"Chris, what are you doing here?" he demanded, staring at his cousin in astonishment. "Weren't you the one who told me that we shouldn't be meddling with history any more than we already are?"

"Forget about that," Chris Dawson snapped at him, blue-green eyes blazing at his older cousin. "You mind explaining to me _what you've done?!_"


	37. Fighting to Survive

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Thirty-seven: Fighting to Survive

Keith was taken aback at his cousin's sudden loss of temper, shrinking back from the younger boy. He'd forgotten how scary he was whenever he lost it. Although it wasn't entirely the kid's fault; he got it from his mother. Normally, his aunt was calm and collective, but when she did lose her temper, she was a formidable opponent.

And it was a trait that she had given her son, who was glaring furiously at him in an uncanny reminder of his mother. It was bad enough that Chris looked just like Susan, but he had inherited a number of his mother's temperaments as well.

"What do you mean, what did I do?" he demanded, throwing a wary look towards his uncle and mother. "Chris, what are you doing here? What's going on?"

"What is going on?" Chris repeated, placing his hands on his hips. "Let me tell you what is going on, Keith Alan Scott! The future's just been completely screwed up! As though it wasn't bad enough as it was, but now Melinda's vanished, so have Penny and Laura! Not to mention, Wyatt's gone completely deranged and apparently you've got a twin sister named Peyton!"

Brooke's mouth dropped open at the end of this speech and Shawn frowned, looking between the two boys. Keith could only stare at his cousin, unable to believe his ears.

"Wait a minute, what did you just say?" he asked slowly. "I've got a what? How could I have a twin sister?" But he was looking at his mother now, studying her swollen stomach curiously. Was it possible? he wondered. His mother had wondered why he hadn't just been taken and raised in the Underworld when she was kidnapped. But what if, in some way, he had? Only instead of him, it was his unknown and unexpected twin that had.

Chris gave him an exasperated look, as though this was the _least_ of their problems at the moment. "Well, you see, Keith," he said in an innocent voice, "when a man and a woman fall in love—"

"Oh, god," Keith groaned, shaking his head. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were a reincarnation of your mother at times." Chris grinned, but his look immediately faded. "All right, forget I asked. What was that about Wyatt?"

"He's gone mental," Chris told him, glad that his cousin was _finally_ on the same page with him. "At least, that's my way of looking at it. He's joined up with Dan and using his powers to kill Innocents and witches." Chris's expression turned hard, one that meant he was trying not to lose it. "The entire city's been under attack for days. And—and he just killed Mom . . ." Chris's voice shook slightly and he looked away from his cousin, staring anywhere but at the rest of the family.

Keith's heart stopped for a minute at those words. "Oh, my god," he said, having trouble breathing. He had indeed changed the future, but it had changed so that everything was worse instead of better.

Chris stared up at the ceiling, his blue-green eyes glistening slightly. "We have to stop this," he said fiercely. "Stop it and stop Dan before he destroys anything else. I'm not going to let Mom die like that. She deserves better; she's been through enough already."

Had his attention not been drawn suddenly to his mother, Keith would have commented to his cousin. But Brooke, without warning, suddenly fell to the ground, groaning. "Mom!" he exclaimed, rushing over to her. Chris looked worriedly at his aunt as Shawn and Keith helped her up and herded her over to the couch. "Are you okay?"

Brooke nodded, her expression vacant. "Yeah," she said softly, looking at him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little light-headed. The doctor said that might happen, though. Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" Keith repeated. "Mom—"

"Okay, I think we've got bigger problems right now," Shawn said firmly, speaking for the first time since his son had arrived. "Your mom's fine, Keith. Don't worry, I've been around pregnant women and it's completely natural to have a dizzy spell. Stress can cause that."

Keith let out a sigh, making his bangs blow up, but surrendered. Chris looked around the room, suddenly realising who was missing. "Where's Aunt Haley?" he demanded.

"Uh . . ." Keith winced slightly, knowing his cousin really _would_ explode at this point. And he probably wouldn't blame him. "Okay, for the record, I did not plan on this."

"Noted. Where is she?"

"The demon got him instead of Mom," Keith said quietly. "Little Wyatt threw up his shield when they attacked and Anderson must've realised that it was the baby who did it. I guess that he made the connection about the twice-blessed child. I mean, it was prophesised. Demons knew about his coming for generations. It's almost as well known as the Charmed Ones."

Chris opened his mouth, probably about to scream bloody murder at him, when Shawn interrupted, looking confusedly between the two cousin. "Wait a minute, a prophesised twice-blessed child?" he repeated. "What is that about? Why, other than being the child of a Charmed One and a Whitelighter, is your cousin any different?"

"No, do not even _think_ about answering that question, cousin," Chris warned him just as Keith opened his mouth to explain to his uncle. "They're just going to have to find out on their own. We can't change history, Keith. You know that."

"Well, it's a little late for that now, isn't it?" Keith shot back. Chris, however, ignored him, walking over to the Book.

"Man, this thing is a lot thinner than we're used to," he commented, flipping through it. "Okay, I'm gonna be downstairs making potions. You guys try and find this Anderson guy and what kind of demons were with him. Since I wasn't here, I don't know who was with him."

Without another word, Chris walked out of the attic, heading downstairs to make the potions. Keith shook his head, wondering what else was going to go wrong before everything was okay again. His cousin and two sisters had apparently vanished, another sister had appeared, and his eldest-younger cousin had turned to the dark side.

He really hoped that his dad and aunt and uncle got back as soon as possible. Because he wasn't sure how much more _he_ could handle before he lost it.

--

Susan grabbed her brother's hand as they held onto the railing, trying desperately not to look down. The past two hours had been the longest in Susan's life. At least she was sure that her mother was safe; she had seen Perry almost shove her into a lifeboat. Elizabeth was safe, for now, at least. Now, at least, she could calm her worries about her mother and focus solely on getting them back home.

Peyton, who was on her left, was dead white as she looked down at the water submerging the ship. Lucas looked over at his sister, his light blue eyes wide with fear. All three of them were asking the same question silently; how were they going to get out of this one?

At that moment, Susan was going to think seriously about talking to Brooke and Haley about binding their kid's powers while they were still in the womb. If nothing else, it would keep them safe for a time.

But then again, they would be in constant danger around them, with no powers to defend themselves. And Susan knew perfectly well that their powers weren't going anywhere.

Looking at Nathan, Susan tightened her grip on her brother's hand, giving him a reassuring look. "We're going to get back home, okay, Nate?" she encouraged him gently. "Don't worry; we'll save your wife. I promise." It was a pledge that she intended to keep.

Nathan nodded, his blue eyes focused on the ship as a cracking sound emerged. Susan immediately knew what was coming, having seen _Titanic_ countless times. "Guys, hang on to the railing!" she yelled to them. Neither of her brothers nor her niece questioned her command, only tightening their grip the railing.

Susan felt as though she was going to lose what little was in her stomach as the end of the ship dropped down, lying level again and almost lost her grip, but instinct made her tighten her grasp. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm her stomach as she heard the terrifying screams that pierced the night. It was almost over . . . and it was about to begin.

As the ship began to rise into the air once again, Susan knew what was coming. "This is it!" she shouted to them.

"Oh, tell me when it's over," Peyton moaned. Her eyes were shut and her knuckles were white. "Just tell me when it's over. Wake me up and I'll be in my own room back home. This never will have happened."

"Peyton, try and get a grip, okay?" Nathan snapped. "Stay close to your dad, all right? Sue, you stay with me. No matter what happens, we do not—cannot—get separated. If we do, then the main thing is to just keep trying to find each other. Concentrate on that."

"We're going to get out of here and we are gonna get back home," Lucas agreed. "Just have to find something—a piece of debris and wait until morning before we cast the spell."

"Are you sure about that?" Peyton asked, opening her eyes and looking at her father. "Because right now, from my point of view, the situation isn't look too good."

"We'll make it and we're going to get you back to your own time," Lucas assured her. "You'll see your mom and brother again soon."

"Peyton, take your dad's hand," Susan ordered as Nathan grabbed hers. "It'll be all right, trust me." _Let it be all right. We have to get back home, for Haley's sake as well as Peyton's. _

Her niece did as she instructed as what was left of the ship sunk further and further into the icy cold Atlantic. Susan's teeth were chattering, but she ignored them. "Take a deep breath _now_!" she yelled, sucking in her own breath just before the ship was submerged. Then she was underwater, her brothers and niece beside her and almost taken underwater.

Keeping her hand clasped in Nathan's, Susan swam towards the surface, sputtering out water when she surfaced, gasping in the icy waters. All around her, people were screaming in terror and pain, pleading for help.

"Lucas!" she shouted, looking wildly around for her older brother and niece. "Peyton! Guys, where are you!" Nathan suddenly grabbed her jacket and started dragging her towards the very edge of the sea of people, where she saw Lucas and Peyton climbing aboard a large piece of debris.

"Sue, come on, climb on!" Lucas told her, helping her to climb on. Susan accepted his help, aware of how frozen her legs had gotten in just a short amount of time. "Here, Nate." Lucas grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him onto the debris. Grabbing his other arm, Susan helped him.

Nathan pulled his legs out of the water, blinking water out of his eyes. He was shaking as he looked around at the people in the water. "Now we wait?" His voice was quiet and grudging.

Susan nodded, pulling her arms around her legs, placing her head into her knees. "And now we wait," she whispered, sounding as broken-hearted as Nathan had ever heard her.


	38. Preparing for Battle

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Thirty-eight: Preparing for Battle

Fuming with anger, Chris tossed another ingredient into the cauldron, making it slowly turn a greenish-yellow. A grin spread across his face in satisfaction. It was nearly ready now.

Running his hands through his hair, he stirred the potion absently, trying very hard not to think about what had just occurred in the future with his mother. His eyes shut tightly as his mind involuntarily projected the image of his bleeding and dying mother in his arms.

_"Chris," she whispered as he held her in his arms, crying. He had tried desperately to get out of the manor—to get them both out—but Wyatt had blocked orbing and sealed off the exits. "Sweetie, you have to get away from here. Go after Keith; find out what's happened." _

_"No." Chris shook his head violently, burying his head into his mom's shoulder, unable to look at the bloody wound in her chest. "No, Mom, I won't leave you. I can't. Please, just hold on . . . hold on, I need you." _

_Susan smiled slightly and cupped his head in her hands. "My little boy," she said softly, her eyes filled with pride. Chris tried to pull his gaze away, but his mom wouldn't let go. "It's up to you now. You have to go back and find out what happened . . . and stop all of this." _

_"But—but Mom—"_

_"No buts, Christopher Perry Dawson," Susan said firmly. Chris knew then that she was serious; she never called him by his full name unless he'd done something wrong or she was absolutely serious. "Go, go now! Before . . . before he comes back . . ." Her strength was waning; Chris could see that just by looking at her. "Go . . ." _

_Chris shook his head vigorously. "No," he protested. "No, Mom, I won't. I won't leave you here." _

_"You have to," Susan murmured, her eyes focused on him. Chris was shaking and he pushed away the tears that were gathered at the edge of his eyes, unwilling to let them fall. _

_"I can't just let you die here," Chris cried. He was startled at how forced his voice sounded and inwardly cursed himself for sounding so vulnerable. But he didn't know how anybody could not be vulnerable in this situation. _

_Reaching up, Susan caressed his cheek and Chris shuddered at how cold her hand felt. "It'll be all right, sweetie," she told him, her voice so quiet he could barely even hear it. "Everything will be all right in the end, you'll see." Chris sniffled as he leaned against his mom's hand. "My baby boy," Susan whispered softly as he did so. "I'm proud of you, Chris. You're everything that I could have ever hoped for in a son and so much more." _

_"Mom—" _

_"Chris, go." Her voice was soft. "Go after Keith in the past. Save Wyatt and your cousins. Go!" The last word was forced. _

_Nodding once, Chris took one last look at his mom before running to the Book of Shadows, flipping through it for the spell that he'd wrote about two weeks ago to send Keith to the past. His mom had thought that it was so good that she'd allowed him to add it to the Book. _

_When he found it, he used his telekinesis to draw the Triquetra on the wall before he read the spell from the Book, tearing it out so that Wyatt couldn't follow him. He really didn't want to try and find out what the evil version of his older cousin was capable of doing to him, considering what he'd just done to Susan, his own aunt. _

"Hear these words, hear my rhyme.

Heed the hope within my mind.

Send me back, to where I'll find.

What I wish in place and time."

(AN: Spell taken from Charmed Episode "Chris-crossed").

_The Triquetra sputtered blue and white lights as Chris rushed over to his mom one last time. "Mom, I love you so much," he whispered, kissing her cheek. "I'm sorry. I love you." _

_"This isn't your fault," Susan whispered, stroking his cheek tenderly. "And I love you, too, sweetie. Now go. Go now, my little adventurer. Go . . ." The last word came out so soft and her head slowly turned away from him. Chris blinked back tears, knowing that she was gone. Shoulders racking with grief and anguish, Chris buried his head into her chest, sobbing. _

_Looking up as he heard a Darklighter orb into the room, Chris leaped out of the way as an arrow was shot his way. Not thinking twice, he raced towards the still-sputtering wall, only taking one last glance back at his mom as he flung himself into it. _

Feeling a hand touch his shoulder, Chris started and looked around, finding his dad standing behind him, looking concerned. "You all right, buddy?" Shawn asked him gently.

Letting out a bitter laugh, Chris shook his head. "I just watched my mom die in my arms, Dad," he said quietly. "What can possibly be all right about that?" He hadn't realised that he was crying until he rubbed his eyes and found wetness there.

Shawn's passive expression turned instantly into an anguished one, similar to his son's. "Well, we're gonna—" His voice faltered slightly. Clearing his throat, Shawn continued, "We're gonna change that. She's not gonna die, Chris. I promise," he added firmly. "Your mom is going to be fine. When you get back, she'll be waiting for you."

Chris smiled slightly at that. "Thanks, Dad," he said honestly. Shawn nodded as he looked away, pushing away the tears. Once Chris was sure that his face was clear, he looked up at his dad again. "I'm, uh . . . almost done with the potion. Aunt Brooke and Keith find those demons yet?"

"Yeah, actually, we did," Keith said, appearing in the doorway. He looked hesitate, as though afraid Chris was still mad at him. Which, essentially, he was. But he wasn't going to hold a grudge against him when _lives_ were at stake. "Basic low-level demons with fireball powers and energy balls. But Anderson's an Upper-Level demon that needs the Power of Three to be vanquished. That must be why he sent Dad, Aunt Susan, and Uncle Nathan to the past, so they couldn't vanquish him until after it was too late."

"Great, that makes me feel so much better," Chris said sarcastically. Keith made a face at him. "Well, I've got enough potions here so that we might be able to seriously wound him."

"Aunt Susan's potions?"

"Don't you know it," Chris said, grinning. His mom was the potion-maker of the family and he'd inherited her skill and talent. She could make some pretty powerful potions, some of which he had mixed. "Just don't tell her what's in them," he warned his cousin. "She'll have to invent them on her own in her own time."

"Spoilsport," Keith grumbled as he snatched up a couple of potions and pocketed them.

"Where's Aunt Brooke, anyway?" Chris wanted to know, noticing his witch aunt's absence. He looked over Keith's shoulder, expecting her to pop out of nowhere.

"Bathroom," Keith explained with a shrug. "She'll be right down. And by the way, we tried scrying for the demon and nothing came up. So either he's blocking us or—"

"They're in the Underworld," Shawn finished up for his nephew. "Whitelighters can sense one another, unless they're down there. And I can't sense Haley."

Chris sighed dramatically. "And the news just keeps getting better and better." Tossing the last ingredient in the potion, he immediately ducked as it exploded. Emerging from underneath the island, Chris waved away the smoke before pouring the potion into some vials.

"Are you even paying attention to the recipe?" Shawn wondered as he watched his son. His eyebrows were raised in surprise and amusement.

"Nope." Chris continued pouring the potion as he glanced sideways at his father. "Trust me, Dad, the potions that I make work a lot better when I _don't_ use recipes."

"He's right," Keith put in an input. "It's like Aunt Susan and her cooking. They taste great, especially when she doesn't read the recipes and just sort of invents stuff. Come to think of it," he added, "she does the same thing with her own potions." He frowned. "Maybe we should put a new theory on this when we get back."

Chris smiled ruefully, but his eyes were suddenly downcast. "_If_ we ever get back," he commented.

"Buddy, you're gonna make it back," Shawn said firmly.

"Uncle Shawn's right, Chris," Keith said, looking annoyed. "Your mom wouldn't have sent us on this suicide mission if she thought that there was _any_ chance of us not making it back."

"Oh, no, she sent _you_ on this suicide mission," Chris argued. "She sent me because our psycho cousin would've killed me if I stayed."

"Well, that too." Keith winced slightly, rubbing the back of his head thoughtfully. "So it's really that bad back home?"

The look that Chris shot him was enough of an answer. "Okay, so here's the plan," he said, not answering his cousin verbally. "We orb to Anderson's cave, get Aunt Haley out, then somehow get Mom and the uncles back here before he comes after us again and turns Wyatt against us and uses him to bring Dan back to life and take over the world." He paused in his speech, taking a deep breath. "This we can do that?"

"It can't be that hard," Keith said reasonably. "We've been doing it our entire lives. Or at least our parents have."

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better," Brooke grumbled as she appeared in the doorway, still looking a bit nauseous. "Wasn't there a point in you guys' lives when you were actually safe?"

Keith and Chris exchanged looks and then returned their attention to her. "Nope," they both said together. Brooke let out a half-groan as she collapsed into a chair, putting her head into her arms. Chris hid a smile as Keith patted her on the back comfortingly.

"Sorry, Mom, but it's our curse for being the kids of the Charmed Ones," he said, trying not to smile. "And don't forget, we had our powers to protect ourselves most of the time."

Brooke let out a sigh. "And that did so well to protect your sister," she said quietly, casting her eyes downward to her swollen stomach. She shook her head. "I cannot believe that there are _three_ Charmed kids on the way. Please don't tell me that you have an older sibling," she added to Chris.

"Nope," Chris said lightly. "Only child."

Keith gave him a look and opened his mouth to say something, but Chris immediately clamped his hand over his cousin's mouth, preventing him from saying anything. "Not a word out of you," he warned him, shooting daggers at the eldest Charmed son. "_Not a word._"

"Not a word about what?" Brooke asked interestedly, looking between her son and nephew expectantly.

"Future consequences," Chris said shortly. Glaring at his cousin, he slipped some potions into his pocket before heading over to the counter, scribbling a note onto the refrigerator. Noticing his dad's look, he explained, "Just in case they get back before we do, they'll know where we're at."

"You should tell them," Keith said in an undertone to Chris as his cousin wrote the note. "It could save your little brother, you know."

"That's not the future we came back here to change," Chris countered, posting the note onto the fridge. Seeing Keith's astonished look, he said quietly, "You know perfectly well that we can't mess with people's destiny. Maybe that was meant to happen that day. Even if we did try and save him, it could still end up happening. And then it would be worse because they did know and couldn't save him."

"Isn't it a bigger risk not to tell them?" Keith hissed. "Maybe saving him is part of why we came here."

"No."

Keith shook his head, exasperated with his cousin's stubbornness. And it was no use trying to change his mind; once it was made up, that was it. "I still think that you should tell them. You're gonna end up regretting it later if you don't."

Chris gave him an irritated look. "Well, that's _my _decision to make," he retorted. "Just leave it alone, Keith."

Before Keith could respond, Chris walked over to his dad. "All right, let's go," he said, taking his dad's hand. Keith sighed and joined them, taking his cousin and mother's hands. Seconds later, they orbed out, disappearing in a swirl of white lights.


	39. Mother Son Bond

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Thirty-nine: Mother/Son Bond

Lucas could feel his eyes dropping as the hours dragged on but he forced them open, knowing that at these freezing temperatures, there was a good chance he wouldn't wake up if he _did_ go to sleep. And, oh, sleep sounded so good right now . . .

Glancing sideways towards his daughter leaning against him, he could feel her shuddering against him and wrapped an arm around her, trying to provide what little warmth human contact could provide right now.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Lucas opened his mouth a few times before he could actually articulate words. "Guys," he croaked, startled at how obscure his voice sounded. "Guys, we—we have to stay awake. Got to stay awake. Nathan . . . Sue . . . guys, wake up."

"I'm awake," Nathan mumbled. As if to prove his point, his dark blue eyes opened blearily, turning towards his brother tiredly. "Don't know how much longer we can hold on with this, though, Luke. How much longer until daybreak?"

Lucas shook his head, straining his neck as he did so. "Can't be much longer, though. Seems like we've been out here forever."

"At least three hours," Peyton mumbled, her teeth chattering as she spoke. "Maybe four."

Nathan nodded mutely, keeping his gaze on his family and not the terror around them. This, surely, was going to haunt his nightmares for a long time. In the past couple of hours since the sinking, the screams of terror and panic had lessened before finally diminishing, save for the few scattered moans across the distance.

"I'm so tired," Nathan moaned, laying his head onto his sister's shoulder. Susan's eyes were open, but Lucas doubted she was much aware of what was happening around her. He knew she was still alive; her breath kept coming out in little puffs of mist.

Her dark curls were so frozen that Lucas thought that they might shatter if something so much as touched them. Ice particles had settled on her eyelashes and around her eyes. And her face . . . her face was pale, oh so pale. The kind of pale that a human's skin tone should never be. Her head was drooping slightly, as though she was fighting with her life to stay awake.

"I know, Nate, but we have to," Lucas urged him. Moving towards his younger siblings, he shook his sister slightly. "Sue? Susan, come on, wake up, kiddo." She made no response. "_Susan!_" he yelled, scared.

His shout made her jump and she blinked up at him, trying to pull him into focus. "Luke?" she whispered, not sounding at all like herself.

"Yeah, Sue, it's me," Lucas said, relieved that she was at least talking. That was something, at least. "Come on, we have to stay awake, all right? Can you do that?"

"It's so cold, Lucas," Susan whispered, sniffling now. She was shaking so badly. "I'm so tired. I want to go to sleep. Let me go to sleep, Luke, I'll get up in a few minutes, I promise."

"No, no, do not go to sleep," Lucas ordered, shaking her again. Susan moaned as her head fell dead against his shoulder and he hugged her tightly, trying to pull her back into her senses. But he knew that getting back to their own time and getting her warm again was the only way to do that. "Come on, Sue, stay awake. Talk to us about something, okay? Tell us about something, anything."

Susan was relatively quiet for a moment as she stared gloomily up at the stars in apparent fascination. "I'm never going to see him, am I?" she asked softly. Lucas shook his head, confused. "My baby. I'm never going to see Chris, am I? And I'm never gonna see Shawn again . . ."

"No, you will," Nathan said confidently. "You'll see them both, Sue, very soon. After all, you said that your son was only a couple years younger than Wyatt and Peyton. That means it's not gonna be very long before you see him. And you'll see Shawn. We just have to wait a little bit longer."

Peyton was peering over their shoulders. "Which way's east?" she asked, sighing. Lucas pointed in the direction and she looked towards it, trying to figure out when the sun was going to rise. Already the sky was a little bit brighter. It wasn't going to be long before they would be able to cast the spell.

"He's afraid," Susan whispered. Everyone looked at her. "Chris. He—he's so scared. And he's in pain. They're doing something to him, Luke. They're torturing my little boy."

"Whose _they_?"

Susan shook her head, her breath coming out in soft gasps. "I dunno," she mumbled. "But I can feel his pain, Nate. They're hurting him. And he's so scared. He's just a baby; why are they doing this to him?"

"Easy, Susan," Lucas said gently, pulling his sister against him and rubbing her back comfortingly. "It's okay. Don't worry, he's going to be fine. You're both going to be fine." But he cast a worried look over to Nathan, who was frowning slightly.

Was their sister so delirious that she thought a dream was real? Or was she really feeling her son's pain across time and space?

Lucas personally thought it was the latter. He knew perfectly well that love knew no bounds. Hadn't their uncle's love for them allowed him to cross over into the real world just in time to save two of them? Was it so impossible that Susan's love for her son—and his love for her—could connect them so that she would know when he was in trouble?

Since she had come back from the future with their uncle, Lucas knew perfectly well that Susan had thought about her son every single moment of every day, dreaming of the day when she would see him again. It was her greatest hope in the world, to have her child with her. To become a mother.

And she would make a great one, too. She had brought this family together and had created a bond between them stronger than siblings and stronger than family. He had spoken true when he called her the thread that bound them together. It was that strength that would make her a superb mother one day.

"Aunt Susan, Chris is fine," Peyton said confidently. "He's back home, in the future, with your future self. He's fine there. Nobody can have him." She bit her lip fretfully, rocking back and forth, but she stopped when she saw water slosh onto the debris. Looking at her father and uncle, she wondered, "How can she know if Chris is scared, anyway?"

Lucas shook his head. "Maternal instincts, kiddo," he answered dryly. "Your grandmother always knows when something is wrong with me, always has. It's like mothers have natural psychic powers or something." Peyton chuckled and even Nathan smiled.

"Yeah, Mom always does know whenever I'm doing something that I'm not supposed to," he sighed. "She kept cornering me after school whenever I was under your daughter's control." Peyton winced slightly. "Somehow, she knew that something was wrong with me."

"Yeah, that's 'cause Haley and I kept telling Mom whenever we were at the café and sometimes Deb was there."

Nathan's mouth opened in an _'oh' _expression and for a minute looked quite baffled. But then he shook his head, clearing it. "That is not the point," he commented. He looked at Susan. "She's getting worse, you know."

Lucas listened slightly, hearing his sister's ramblings. "It'll be all right, sweetie. Stay strong, honey. You have to help your dad and Aunt Brooke and save Aunt Haley. Don't worry, in the end, everything will be as it should be. Mommy's here, Chris. I'm right here with you." Her eyes were slightly unfocused as she stared off into the distance.

"Okay, we have to get some heat into her, right now," Lucas said, flabbergasted. But as he looked around, he knew that there was nothing to get her warm with. Other than getting them back home, that was.

"How's getting home sound?" Peyton asked suddenly. Lucas looked at her and saw her grinning as she looked over their shoulders. Turning around, he saw that the tip of the sun was emerging over the horizon. He could see the very edge of it appearing over the edge of the sea.

Nathan looked around them, wondering if they could cast a spell without anybody noticing. Just by looking at their neighbours, he couldn't tell if most of them were even alive. Even his sister didn't look alive, save for the misty breath coming out of her frozen lips. If he didn't see her breath and hear her ramblings, Nathan wouldn't sworn she was a corpse.

But then again, the people there had more problems to deal with than seeing people disappear in a shimmer of lights right now. No doubt they would just dismiss it as a hallucination, if they _did_ see them at that moment. Nathan got a good hand on his sister, stretching his other hand to Lucas.

"I think you're going to have to help us with the spell, kid," he told Peyton. "I don't think that Susan's up to it right now and we need all the power we can get."

Peyton nodded, taking her father's hand and her aunt's. Praying against all odds that this was going to work this time, Nathan started the spell, his frozen brain coming up with a rhyme almost instantaneously.

"_We call upon the ancient power,_

_To help us in this darkest hour._

_Return us now, to whence we came,_

_Return us across time and space,_

_To help those we love, _

_Let us return to our time and place." _

Nathan saw the shimmering lights in front of his eyes and engulfed them, knowing that this time it had worked. Just as the frozen Atlantic vanished, he felt the warmth of the manor hit him so unexpectedly that his knees gave way and he collapsed onto the ground.

Hearing a groan next to him, he turned his head and saw his sister, still frozen and hallucinating, lying next to him. Pushing himself up, Nathan saw Lucas trying to push feeling back into his legs and Peyton was getting to her feet, looking worriedly at their surroundings.

"Guys, take care of Susan," Lucas said as he headed towards the doorway. "I'm gonna go check out the rest of the house, see if anybody's here."

"They probably left to go find Aunt Haley," Peyton said worriedly.

"Take her down to her room; she'll be more comfortable there," Lucas said, ignoring his daughter's statement. All three of them knew that she was right. None of the family would have left Haley at the mercy of a demon even if she _wasn't _pregnant.

Nathan inwardly cursed as he hoisted his sister's tiny form into his arms and headed out of the door. "There's a quilt in the second closet on the right," he told Peyton. "Get that for your aunt, will you?"

His niece nodded and obeyed his instructions as he carried Susan into her bedroom and pulled her underneath her covers. Peyton ran into the room and Nathan wrapped his sister's body in the quilt.

Her eyelids fluttered open slightly and she shivered slightly. "Nathan?" she asked, her voice still sounding slightly out of it.

"Take it easy, Sue," Nathan warned her. "Just rest, okay?" He looked up as their brother came running into the room, his eyes wide with shock.

"Guess who else is here in 2006?" he commented, holding up a piece of paper in his hands. Nathan grabbed it and scanned it, his eyes widening in a mixture of horror, amazement, and disbelief.

Because scrawled at the bottom of the letter was a looping signature. And the name that was written there was _Chris. _


	40. In the Cave

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Forty: In the Cave

Gritting her teeth, Haley tried to orb the shackles off of her hands to no avail. Apparently, they too were made to resist Whitelighter magic. Groaning in frustration, she looked towards where Anderson was adding things to a cauldron. Her stomach tightened in fear; she had a vague idea she knew what he was doing.

"Not much longer, Mrs. Scott," he said with a cold smile to her. "It won't be much longer now. I daresay that you will be looking forward to the reunion with your father-in-law."

"Let me ask you something," Haley said, glaring at him, "what do think you're going to accomplish by doing this?"

Anderson looked surprised by the question. "My dear young Whitelighter, I thought that I had made that perfectly clear already," he said, looking at her in shock. "You see, when Mr. Scott was attempting to kill his brother and daughter, he revealed his plan to me. To rid the world of the Power of Three and take it over. Attempting to get rid of the Charmed Ones was only the first step. Getting a child powerful enough to kill the Source and take his place was another thing. The only child that was that powerful was the child of a Charmed One.

"When your father-in-law was murdered, I pursued the plan. But I knew that a witch would only be safe when he's under the protection of his own blood. Which meant that I would have to bring Dan back from the dead in order to proceed with the plan. But only the most powerful force on earth has the strength to do that. I naturally thought that the son of the firstborn would be the most powerful. Had I foreseen your own pregnancy, Mrs. Scott, then I would have been after you to begin with."

Haley took a deep breath, trying to calm her fears and anger. _Calm yourself down, _she ordered herself. _The only thing that anger will get you here is yourself and the baby killed. _

"The child of a witch and a Whitelighter would make a powerful ally," Anderson said, looking at her flat stomach with anticipation. He smiled coldly. "But an even terrible enemy. This child even more so. Which is why we will be turning him against you and your family. Your son will be our hope for taking over the world and throwing it into fear. We will use his powers to resurrect his grandfather and reverse his morality. Irreversibly," he added smugly. "You won't be able to turn him back, Mrs. Scott. But don't worry; we'll allow him to return home with you. At least until he's old enough to join us here. When he reaches that age, then we'll be coming for him, Dan with us, and the world as you know it will be destroyed."

"Right," Haley said, her voice shaking. "What makes you think that you can turn my son against me? And what makes you think that I'll even allow it? I'm not planning on just sitting here and watching you corrupt my child. In fact, if you do think that I will, then you're stupid as well as insane."

Anderson's eyes flashed and he powered up an energy ball to throw at her, but at the last second, thought better of it. "You'd better be very quiet, Mrs. Scott. Or I might just reconsider sending your little boy home with you."

Without another word, he turned around and returned to the cauldron, his back to her. Haley shook her head, looking down at her flat stomach and placed a chained hand over it, trying to remember how to breathe. _Just hang on, sweetie,_ she told him silently. _It'll be all right. Mommy will figure out a way out of this. Don't worry, it'll be fine. _

Glancing upward, Haley prayed that the family would figure out a way to find her soon. Otherwise, it wasn't going to be Keith who suffered at the hands of Anderson and Dan. It was going to be his cousin, the son of the youngest Charmed One.

Just as the thought passed through Haley's mind, white orbs appeared in the cave and four figures materialised. "Aunt Haley!" Keith hollered, racing towards her.

Anderson whirled around and threw an energy ball at him. Keith ducked and managed to avoid the attack, pulling a potion vial out of his back pocket. "You don't know when to give up, do you, boy?" he snarled, waving his hand. A dozen or so demons shimmered in. "Well, let's try your hand with this. Two little boys, a Whitelighter, and a telepath? Let's see how long you last." His voice was smug and his eyes delighted.

As the demons began to attack her family, Haley watched in horror as Anderson made his way to her, dragging her over to the cauldron. Haley fought him to no avail.

"Now, why don't we try again, Mrs. Scott?" he said, ignoring her attempts to break free. "It is time. Tonight, we will bring forth your father-in-law. And no one will be able to stop us."

--

It didn't take them long to track down Anderson and Haley. In fact, it surprised Keith that it didn't take longer than it did. But the scene that met his eyes when they found them wasn't one he had been expecting, even though his mother had warned him about it.

His aunt was chained at the edge of the wall, looking battered and beaten, but still strong, defiantly glaring at Anderson. The demon was standing with his back towards them, mixing something in a cauldron, a malicious smile curled across his face.

Not thinking about keeping quiet so that they could surprise him, Keith screamed, "Aunt Haley!" and raced towards her, ignoring his mother.

Whirling around, Anderson glared furiously at him, chucking an energy ball at him. With agility born from years of demon attacks, Keith dived out of the way, yanking a potion vial out of his back pocket as he did so.

"You don't know when to give up, do you, boy?" Anderson snarled. Thrusting out his hand, Anderson summoned about a dozen demons. "Well, let's try your hand with this. Two little boys, a Whitelighter, and a telepath? Let's see how long you last."

Alarm rose through Keith as the demons began to attack. Throwing a potion at one of them, Keith ducked as he exploded. Three more shimmered in as he vanquished another.

"Oh, this isn't good," he muttered, using another potion after another. But demons kept shimmering in, every time one was vanquished, and pretty soon Keith had run out of the potions that he'd come with.

Holding the last one in his hands, Keith threw it at the demon, vanquishing him, and prepared for the next attack. There were plenty of ways to fight demons other than by magical means and after all, Keith was a Scott boy. Glancing over at his cousin, mother, and uncle, he realised that they were in just as much trouble as he was. His mom, while being able to use his own powers as well as her own, wasn't doing much better than he was. And she was weary from being pregnant.

Shawn was already down, a Darklighter arrow visible from where Keith was. From where he was standing, Keith didn't know if his uncle was even alive.

But he had to be, right? Because if Shawn was dead, then Chris would have vanished. And his cousin was in the mess of it, using every trick in the book that he knew and some that he had invented himself.

_"Per quo vis de quo bis beatus filius, ego arcessre Dan, filius de May et Royal. Desuper prosus tempus et intervallum, pervenire in hic locus. Perdere quo incantamentum de quo Vis de Tres. Tuus corpus et vis tr reddere, cum quo vis de tuus nepos, sinere id esse."_ (Roughly translated, it means: "By the power of the twice blessed son, I summon Dan, son of May and Royal. From throughout time and space, come into this place. Undo the spell of the Power of Three. Your body and powers returned, with the power of your grandson, let it be.")

Hearing the words, Keith's head snapped over to Anderson, who had Haley chained and his hand pressed against her stomach, an evil glow emerging from it as he chanted. In his distraction, Keith forgot about the demons and paid for his preoccupation with an energy ball flying towards him, hitting him in the stomach and sending him flying into a wall.

Keith only registered flames emerging from the cauldron as he blacked out. The last thing he heard was Haley and Brooke screaming and Chris yelling.

--

Chris tried to remember how to breathe as he watched the man who had caused their family so much pain rise from the cauldron. The man's head turned towards him and his aunt and he smirked, raising his hand and flinging a lightning bolt towards Brooke.

Brooke shrieked as she went flying backwards into the wall next to her son. She lay still, unconscious. Chris could sense she was still alive and that provided a little relief. But it did nothing to reassure him when he realised that he was alone right now. Along and fighting the man that had almost destroyed his family.

"These powers are better than they ever were," Dan commented, glancing down at his hand. "My compliments, my friend."

"It is good to have you back, Mr. Scott," Anderson said with a smirk. "You don't know how much trouble this has been just to resurrect you. Mostly because of these two," he added, nodding towards Chris and the unconscious Keith.

"Hmm." Dan stepped closer and Chris stood his ground, glaring coldly at him. "And who might you be?"

"None of your business," Chris retorted, casting a look towards his family. He had to come up with a plan fast, otherwise he and Keith wouldn't have much of a future to get back to.

Dan shook his head, a malicious smile creeping across his face. Chris swallowed slightly; that was the same look that _Wyatt_ had had on his face right before he killed his mom.

"Do you honestly think that I'm stupid, boy?" he asked softly. "I could recognise that daughter of mine immediately. She was the exact image of her mother Elizabeth. The last time I saw her, I saw the same contempt in her eyes that I can clearly see in yours. They're in the exact image of hers. So . . . the conclusion must be that you're of her family. A Dawson. Oh, yes . . . and Elizabeth didn't have any other family than a brother, who died decades ago. Which means you either came from the past or the future." His eyes flew to Keith. "And if that boy came with you, I'd say you're from the future. Although he's the image of my brother, it's not Keith Scott. I'd know him in an instant." A scornful look crossed his face. "So . . . if you're from the future and a Dawson, then that would make you Susan's son."

Chris muttered a swearword that he never would have dared say in his mother's presence, but only glared at him. "So what if I am?" he dared ask. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Do?" Dan's laughter emerged from the cave. "What am I going to _do_? Obviously, boy, your dear mother forgot to give you a few details about me."

"She doesn't talk about you that much. Mom's ashamed to be related to you. If she does talk about you, she says that you were a complete jerk to Uncle Keith and Uncle Lucas and Uncle Nathan."

"Then let me give you a little update. If you're not with me, boy, then you're against me. And if you're against me, even if you are family, then you will be destroyed!"

Lightning bolts caught Chris off guard and he was flung off his feet. Before he had the chance to compose himself, more attacks came and he screamed. "MOM!"


	41. The Power of Nine

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Forty-one: The Power of Nine

Susan sat up straight, despite her brothers' protests and snatched the letter from Lucas's hand. Actually, she was a little surprised she was able to move so fast, after nearly freezing to death. Looking down at the letter, she read the note.

_Dear Mom, Uncle Nathan, and Uncle Lucas—_

_You guys don't know me yet, but I'm Susan's son from the future. I'm here with my cousin Keith, Lucas's son that Aunt Brooke's pregnant with, to save our cousin from turning evil. If you guys get here before we get back, then we've gone after Aunt Haley. A demon kidnapped her in hopes of bringing Dan back from the dead. _

_We're in the Underworld, if we're not back when you get here. You guys, we'll probably need your help. It took the Power of Three to vanquish Anderson in the future. I don't know how long we can hold him off or even if we can stop him, since Keith and I don't have our powers here in the past. _

_Just get down there as soon as you can and find us. We have to save our cousin and save the future. _

_And Mom, I love you. Hope you're okay and the uncles. _

_With love,_

_Chris_

Her mouth was hanging open by the time that she had finished reading and she looked up at her brothers, who were wearing equal expressions of disbelief. Peyton was just as astonished, but she peered over her aunt's shoulder. "Yep, that's definitely Chris's handwriting," she observed after a moment's inspection.

Susan closed her eyes, remembering the fear and pain that she had felt so intensely in those icy waters of the Atlantic ninety-four years ago. And it wasn't her own pain; she knew that immediately. She had definitely been feeling somebody else's pain.

And that person was Chris; she knew that now. She had known that then, even through her confused and muddled mind she had recognised her son's pain, had recognised her unborn child. Her connection to him was strong, perhaps stronger than it was to his father.

Pushing aside the blankets that Nathan had engulfed her in, Susan tried to get out of bed when Lucas pushed her back into it. "Don't even think about, Susan," he warned her. "You're not going down there; you're not going anywhere."

"Luke, they need the Power of Three!" Susan argued, waving the letter at him. "How are you guys supposed to rescue Haley without me?"

"Okay, maybe you forgot about the part that you're too sick to go anywhere," Lucas shot back. "Sue, you almost _died_ out there and you were so delirious that you were only half-aware of what was going on. You are not going down there."

Susan scoffed, shaking her head. "Lucas Eugene Scott, I would _love_ for you try and stop me."

"She's got a—whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on, wait a minute," Nathan interrupted himself, looking torn between laughter and astonishment. He stared at his brother, his eyes filled with mirth. "_Eugene_?" Peyton buried her face in a pillow to hide her giggles as Lucas made a face at his sister, shaking his head at the ceiling.

"Who told you that?"

"Karen," Susan said promptly. "When she and I were picking out names for the new baby, we were looking through some lists that she made eighteen years ago when she was trying to choose a name for you. Lucas Eugene was circled on there."

"Oh, jeez," Lucas moaned. "Fine, we'll go, but only if you promise that you will try and keep out of trouble and never, ever, use my middle name again."

"I can't promise that," Susan said melodramatically. Lucas rolled his eyes as Susan closed her eyes, searching for the bond that linked her with her future son. She immediately found him and reached out for Nathan's hand. As the four joined hands, she orbed them out of the manor, heading for the Underworld.

--

Chris gritted his teeth, trying desperately not to scream as the lightning bolts ceased. His eyes narrowed to slits, he searched for Dan, wondering why he had stopped. Pushing himself up with what little strength he had left, Chris looked up at the fallen witch and found himself facing a Darklighter crossbow.

His heart stopped for a second as he stared at it, fear and alarm rising through him. "What—what are you doing?" he demanded, managing to get to his feet.

"I'm getting rid of you, little Dawson," Dan said with a smirk. "You know, I'm pretty sure that losing her little boy before she even gives birth to him will be a devastating blow for that little Whitelighter. It could very well be the beginning journey of a downward spiral from which she will never recover. Such a shame, too. Had you not been her son, you could've had such great promise, boy. Oh, well."

Chris cringed, slamming his eyes shut. He knew perfectly well that he didn't have the strength to survive getting hit by the arrow and he couldn't avoid it. There were demons on every side, waiting to attack. There was nowhere to run; nowhere to hide. He was trapped.

He heard the sound of the crossbow being released, but he never felt the arrow hit. Wondering if Dan had missed, Chris opened his eyes.

The arrow was hanging in mid-air, frozen. Chris let out a breath that he hadn't realised he had been holding and looking around.

Susan lowered her hands and the arrow dropped harmlessly to the ground. Glaring at Dan with a hatred that Chris had never seen before in his mom, Susan said in a dangerous voice, "Dan, _get away from_ _my_ _kid_."

"Mom!" Chris pushed past the demons and launched onto her, holding her tightly. She was younger, slimmer, and didn't have the calm control that years of demon fighting had given her, but it was still his mother.

It was a good thing that she had been anticipating his embrace, otherwise she would've been knocked over by the force of it. Chris held onto her, burying his head into her shoulder. Over it, he could see his uncles standing behind her, along with a blonde girl.

_That has to be Peyton,_ Chris thought in realisation, looking at her closely. _Jeez, she looks just like her sisters. _Both Penny and Laura had their father's blonde hair, although only Laura had Lucas's light blue eyes. Peyton, like Penny, had their mother's dark eyes. But unlike Penny, Peyton had Lucas's features in her face.

Pulling away from his hug, Susan took his head into her hands, looking worriedly at him. "Sweetie, are you okay?" she asked. Chris nodded, unable to speak. She frowned and noticed his burnt clothes from the lightning. "You've been hurt."

"I'm okay, Mom," Chris managed to say. She was over a decade younger than his own mom, but she was still the same. Overprotective of him. And Chris relished it. Anything just to have her with him again.

She didn't look so good, though. Her face was deathly pale—although not as pale as he suspected it had been a while ago—and he could feel a slight tremble in her hands as she held him.

"How did you three get back here?" Anderson roared, starting forward. Susan flicked her wrists threateningly and he moved back some. His eyes suddenly landed on Peyton. "Miss McCain. Of course. I should've known that you weren't really on our side."

"That's 'cause my name's not Emily McCain," Peyton retorted, tossing a sheet of blonde hair away from her. "It's Peyton. Peyton Scott, firstborn daughter of the firstborn Charmed One."

Dan's eyes rounded with fury and he aimed a lightning bolt at Peyton, but Lucas, anticipating this, flung his wrist and forced it in the opposite direction. "What is it with your offspring _not_ staying in their own time?" he snarled, looking furiously between the three Charmed kids.

Susan smiled as she tightened her grip on her son's shoulders, glancing towards Nathan, who was carrying his wife back over to them. He set her down and was kneeling beside her, talking to her gently. Looking around at their surroundings, she saw Brooke and a boy she assumed was Keith starting to regain consciousness.

Her eyes widened when she saw Shawn lying motionless on his back, a Darklighter arrow sticking out of his chest. For a moment, her heart stopped until she saw that he was breathing.

Chris followed her gaze and then looked back up at her. "We need to heal Dad," he whispered to her.

"How?" Susan whispered back. "I don't have healing powers. Do you?" she added, looking at her son curiously.

"No," Chris said unhappily. "I don't. Even if I did, I wouldn't have the strength to use them right now. We'll need to pull our Whitelighter powers and tap into Dad's power to heal him. If we could get to him, that is."

Susan tried to stay calm as she looked back at Anderson and Dan. "Just hand over your wife, Nathan, and your pathetic family can go free," Dan offered him. "Their offspring, too."

"No way!" Nathan glared furiously at him. "You're not taking my wife and you're sure not taking my son, Dad! I'm not losing either one of them."

Looking at her son, Susan whispered to him, "Get your cousin and aunt awake. It's gonna take more than the Power of Three to vanquish him this time."

"What do you mean?" Chris's blue-green eyes, so much like her own, were looking up at her in surprise.

Susan smiled. "Sometimes you have to pull the entire family's power, sweetie," she said. "Sometimes you need the Power of Nine."

--

AN: Just in case you want to know, the nine includes Susan, Nathan, Lucas, Chris, Keith, Peyton, little Wyatt, and the twins' past selves.


	42. Vanquished Again

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Forty-two: Vanquished . . . Again

Lucas wondered if his sister had a plan as she muttered something to her son. From the look in her eyes, he guessed that maybe she had half a plan and was still trying to work the rest out. His eyes travelled over to Brooke, who was stirring, her eyes looking wildly around them.

She smiled happily when she saw them, but then she noticed the unconscious boy lying beside them—their son, he assumed—and crawled over to him, drawing him into her arms.

Lightning sparkled from Dan's fingertips and he grinned maliciously at his daughter. "You know, little girl, I've been wanting to do this for a long time. You've been a thorn in my side for a long time. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose. And like mother, like son," he added, glancing towards Chris.

Susan placed her hands protectively on him and gently guided him behind her. "You leave him out of this, Dan," she warned him. "Not unless you want to die _again_."

Dan laughed, his attention focused solely on Susan now. "Really? And what will stop you from killing me if I _don't_ hurt your precious little boy, Susie?" he asked, using the nickname she so despised.

That made Susan cock her head, considering. "Nothing," she said at last. "But I can promise you that I won't make it hurt as much as it will if you _do_ hurt him."

"Yeah, you don't want to make a mother angry," Lucas said, noticing that Chris had vanished from behind Susan and was helping Brooke get Keith awake. So _that's_ what Susan was doing; driving Dan's attention away from her son so he could get to them. "A mother's protectiveness over her children can pack a lot of bolts."

Dan's head turned towards him now. "Lucas, Lucas, Lucas," he said with a shake of his head. He smiled malevolently. "Don't get in the middle of this. Not unless you want to join your dear uncle and leave your pretty little wife and children alone."

Lucas gritted his teeth at the mention of Keith, but pushed his anger aside. "You and your demon friend are the only ones who are going to be dying tonight, Dan."

Susan glanced towards him, eyebrows raised, and he gave a short nod. He knew what they were doing now. Dan had been resurrected, with his powers in full, probably with more power than before. Which meant they were going to need more than just the Power of Three. They needed all the power of the Warrens that they had at their disposal.

Looking towards Nathan, who was kneeling beside Haley, her head buried into his chest and crying softly, Lucas bit his lip before returning his attention to Dan.

"I think not, Lucas. You see, I have more than just my old powers now. Your nephew is quite the witch and now . . ." He held up an energy ball in his hands. "I have some of his powers." Without a second thought, he flung it towards Susan, who froze it in mid-air. Lucas redirected it towards Dan, who destroyed it with a lightning bolt.

As the blast emerged, Susan raced towards Lucas and Nathan, her dark curls bouncing off of her shoulders, and grabbed their hands. "Okay, we're gonna need a spell, now!" she said, fear pushing anger into her voice. She looked around at her brothers, blue-green eyes blazing. "Anybody got anything?"

"Why can't we just use the one that we used the last time we vanquished him?" Nathan demanded as Brooke, Keith, and Chris joined them. Shawn was still lying on the floor, struck down by the arrow. "I mean, that would still work, wouldn't it?"

"It would, but it wouldn't give little Wyatt back his powers," Chris reasoned. "The ones that Dan stole from him when Anderson resurrected him." His blue-green eyes were wide as he looked towards Keith. "I think we'll need one in Latin, like the one that they used to resurrect him." His eyebrows raised meaningfully.

"Right," Keith said, his hands opening and closing unconsciously. "Right. Okay. Uh . . . all right, okay." His mind was working fast to come up with a spell. "Here we go:

_"Nos ad se vocare super quo antiquus vis,_

_ad adjuvare nos in hic spissima hora._

_De quo regnum de quo omnino ad quo regnum de quo vivus,_

_hic striga reverti._

_Sinere noster vis nunc conjungere ut unus._

_Matris, filiae, patris, filius, fratris, sororis._

_Supervenire noster vis simul ad renittere hic malus ad unde is venire._

_Reddere quo vis is amictus de Wyatt Matthew Scott."_

(AN: translation: "We call upon the ancient power, to help us in this darkest hour. From the realm of the dead to the realm of the living, this witch has returned. Let our power now combine as one. Mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, brothers, sisters. Join our power together to send this evil to whence he came. Return the power he stole from Wyatt Matthew Scott.")

While Keith chanted the spell, the entire family joined hands, tightening their grip on the circle until everybody's hands were linked. Dan slowly was encircled by the same ring of fire that had vanquished him last time and as Keith spoke the last word, he exploded as he was vanquished . . . again.

As the flames vanished, something remained where their father had stood. A glimmer of lights that looked surprisingly like orbs. They flew towards Haley and dove into her stomach, disappearing.

She stared down where the orbs had gone and looked around at the rest of them. "What just happened?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"Looks like Wyatt got his powers back," Chris said with a grin. Lucas chuckled as he looked towards Anderson, who was glaring furiously at them.

"You might have one this round, witches," he snarled. "But this is just a battle. You might just want to watch your backs, because I am going to end the war . . . and win." Without another word, he shimmered out.

Susan let out a slow breath. "He'll be back," she said quietly as she got to her feet. Her brothers followed suit, each helping the mother of their child. Or children, in Lucas's case.

"And we'll be waiting," Lucas told her with a small smile. Susan smiled and nodded before turning towards the groaning sound they heard at the other end of the cave.

"Shawn," she whispered, racing towards her boyfriend and squatting beside him. Chris was beside her instantly. Joining hands with Shawn and Chris, she concentrated on Shawn's healing powers and her own Whitelighter ones, merging them together. She let out a slow breath of relief when she saw the glow emerging from her and Chris's hands, closing the deadly wound.

Eyes flying open, Shawn blinked and grinned up at his girlfriend. "Hi, there," Susan said, smiling back. "Glad to see you amongst the living again."

"Good to see that you made it back," Shawn said weakly, pushing himself up. Susan helped him stand up as Chris launched onto his parents, pulling them into a tight hug.

One hand around her future husband and the other around her future son, Susan looked towards the rest of her family, future and present. "Come on, let's get out of here," she said dryly.

--

After the battle wounds had been taken care of, Susan insisted on them staying long enough for dinner. She was in the kitchen baking while Lucas and Brooke were talking to their future children in the living room. Haley and Nathan had disappeared upstairs. Shawn had gone upstairs, needing a rest after the Darklighter poison had nearly killed him.

Chris wandered into the kitchen, settling himself down at the island, watching his mom. He snuck a spoon from the drawer and dipped it in the soup, taste-testing it.

"Christopher Perry Dawson!" Susan scolded, but she was smiling, shaking her head in amusement. "Can't you wait a half an hour until dinner's ready?"

"I could, but I'm starving, Mom," Chris said with a grin. "All that battling took it out of me. And this is excellent, by the way," he added, inclining his head towards it. Susan rolled her eyes, but handed him a roll in mock surrender.

"Eat that, then," she told him. "Otherwise I might just have to ground you as soon as you get back."

Chris swallowed, wondering not for the first time if she was going to be there when he got back. But then, nothing had happened to her until Keith had changed the past so Wyatt was evil, so she should be okay . . . right?

Glancing towards the living room, Chris watched his cousins as they talked with their parents. They looked as though they had been brother and sister for years, instead of just finding out about them not even twenty-four hours ago.

His thoughts turned to his little brother Ben. Would they be as close, if he were still alive? What would have happened if that demon hadn't attacked that day?

"What's the matter, honey?"

Chris looked up and saw his mom watching him worriedly. "Nothing," he lied. "It's nothing, Mom. I'm fine."

"Clearly, I'm going to believe that," Susan said sarcastically. She touched her son's arm, rubbing it gently. "Come on, sweetie, what's going on? Is there something else going on that we don't know about?"

"No, not about why we came here," Chris said truthfully. He thought about Ben and what had happened in the future. Could he risk it? he wondered, glancing at his mom. After his brother had died, his mom had almost lost it, probably would have if it wasn't for him and his dad. But she had never been the same person. He wanted to help his mom, didn't want to see her that broken-hearted and lost, but was it worth telling her about what happened in the future?

Susan waited as Chris stared at his hands, lost in thought. Her heart was pounding in her chest, wondering what he was thinking about and if he would tell her. She prayed that nothing horrible had happened to her son, her little boy.

Finally, Chris raised his head, looking at her directly in the eye. "Mom," he said, taking a deep breath, "there's something that I have to tell you."


	43. Chris's Tale

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Forty-three: Chris's Tale

"Did—did Aunt Brooke tell you that I told her I was an only child?" Chris asked. Susan nodded, wondering where this was going. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Well, I wasn't telling the complete truth. I—I am an only child now, but I wasn't always. I had a little brother, who was two years younger than me. His name was Ben. Benjamin Theodore Dawson."

Susan sucked in her breath. "I have another boy?" she asked, smiling. Chris nodded, a hesitant smile crossing his face. "Well, what happened to him? Did—did a demon kidnap him?"

Chris nodded, shivering slightly. He could remember that day, the day that the demons attacked, clearer than he had any other. "It was on his fifth birthday; I was seven," he told her as the bleak memories of that day penetrated his mind.

_"Ben, Chris, get down here!" Susan called for her boys. "Your cousins are about to arrive!" She shook her head as the brothers toppled down the stairs. As Ben ducked behind her, Chris grinned up at his mother, giving her a "What? I didn't do anything wrong!" look. _

_"That look is going to you into trouble one day," Susan told him. "Don't pick on your brother, it's his birthday." _

_"What's the point of having a little brother, then?" Chris pouted, but relented. Ben sprinted out from behind Susan, running for the doorbell as it rang. _

_White lights appeared and materialised into Susan's husband and the boys' father, kissing his wife tenderly before scooping his eldest son up. "Hey, how's it going, buddy?" he asked, grinning. Chris grinned back. "Who's got a birthday today?" _

_"Wrong son, Shawn!" Susan called as she made her way into the kitchen to put the finishing touches on the cake. "Chris, can you come give me a hand in here?" _

_Shawn winked at Chris, who made a face. "Go on, son, before she gets mad," he advised, heading into the living room to help his brother-in-laws with the presents. _

_"What do you need, Mom?" Chris asked, heading into the kitchen. _

_"If you could put the plates out on the table, that would be a big help, sweetie," Susan said, beaming at him. "They're in that bag there on the counter." _

_Chris did as he was told, but before he could even touch the bag, a loud scream emerged from the living room. Susan reacted instantly, rushing into the living room. "Stay here, Chris," she ordered. _

_Ignoring his mom's command, Chris raced out, stopping short when he saw the demons that were attacking his family. His eyes fell on Ben, hiding behind a table, his face scrunched up in fear. A demon powered up an energy ball and launched it onto the table. _

_Immediately, Chris sent it flying back towards the demon, vanquishing it. Racing towards his brother, Chris grabbed his hand and pulled him up. Pushing Ben ahead of him, Chris began running towards the kitchen, trying to get his brother to safety. He stopped short when he saw his mom go down. _

_"MOM!" _

_Chris ran towards her when he saw her get up to her feet, only grazed by an energy ball. Her eyes went wide when she saw them. "Chris, Ben, get into the kitchen!" she snapped at them, fear making her voice harsh. "NOW!" she added when Chris hesitated. _

_Obeying his mother's command, he raced back towards his little brother and pushed him ahead of him, into the kitchen. Chris was about to orb them out of there when he heard a yell. "Stay here!" he told Ben, running back towards where the action was going on. _

_He was shocked to his mom lying on the ground, his dad healing her, but the demons were all gone. Save for one. The lone demon grinned, baring his teeth maliciously as he shimmered out and then back in behind Chris. _

_The seven-year-old whirled around, blue-green eyes blazing as he met the demon. But what he hadn't realised was that his brother was right behind him. Within the space of about two heartbeats, the demon had grabbed him and shimmered out with him. _

_"NO!" Chris used his exploding power, a trait that he'd inherited from his mother, to try and stop him, but all it did was make a vase explode. _

_"Chris, I told you to—" Susan began when she was finished being healed and she saw him standing there. _

_"Mom, he's gone! They took Ben!" Chris cried frantically, about to orb out to find his brother. Susan stopped him, ordering him to say with his aunts as she and his uncles headed to the Underworld, ready to tear it apart looking for her younger son. _

Susan's eyes were filled with tears as she listened to her son's story, her hand around his. "Did—did we find him?" she asked.

"Yeah," Chris said quietly. "But he wasn't alive when you did. It took you two whole weeks of searching and when you found him, all that you found was his corpse." He shook his head, running shaking hands through his hair. "You wouldn't let me see his body when you brought him home."

Tears actually did start to fall at those words. Susan's mind whirled at the thought of one of her children, her baby boy, being taken at the hands of a demon. If she ever met this demon, she would kill him with her own hands. "Do—do you know which demon it was?" she finally managed.

Chris nodded mutely. "Yeah, it was Anderson," he said quietly. Susan's eyes went wide. "You guys _did_ vanquish him in our future, but not until later. Not until it was too late. Mom, you have to stop him this time," he said pleadingly, launching onto her. "I don't want to grow up without a brother. I've watched Keith and Wyatt grow up with siblings, being the older brother, and I wished that I'd been able to do that. I would've willingly stripped my own powers if it meant bringing him back."

Susan wrapped her arms around her son, hugging him tightly, unable to choke back her own tears. Anderson had declared war on the Scott family. And now it was time for the Scotts to fight back. Chris was sobbing into her chest, crying out his sorrows.

Rubbing his back gently, Susan pushed his untidy hair out of his face, smoothing it into place. She smiled reassuringly at him. "Listen to me, sweetie," she whispered. "Don't you worry about a thing. We're gonna save him, all right? When you get back home, your brother will be waiting for you. And so will I," she added firmly. Chris looked up at his mom and she shrugged. "Brooke told me," she explained.

"Yeah, remind me never to trust her with valuable information again," Chris grumbled. "I should've known better. Laura's not any better," he added, complaining. Susan couldn't help laughing as she messed up her son's hair. Chris pushed her hand away, grinning.

"Thank you, Chris," she said, suddenly sombre. "For telling me about your brother. This way, we'll be able to stop it. And I promise you, sweetheart, we _will_ stop it."

"I'm not only doing it for Ben, I'm doing it for you, too." Chris looked up at her. "After Ben died, you . . . lost your way for awhile. It took all us to bring you back. All that you thought about was hunting demons and sometimes you wouldn't even come home for days on end. You scared me, but Dad said it was just your way of dealing. Uncle Luke said that it was worse than when you guys lost Uncle Keith."

"Well, losing your uncle to your lunatic of a father is one thing. Losing your child is another thing entirely. It's every mother's worst fear to lose your child, Chris," she told him gently. "Nothing even comes close. So just promise me when you go back that you'll take care of yourself."

"I promise," Chris said loyally. He rested his head onto his mom's shoulder. "I love you, Mom."

"Oh, I love you, too, sweetie." His mom wrapped an arm around him. "What do you say you give me a hand with this?"

"Sure," Chris said, jumping off the stool. "That's our bonding time in the future, anyway. I'm usually right there next to you, helping."

"Okay, see, that's my boy!" Susan said with a grin as Chris helped her make dinner for the rest of the family.

"Yeah, I am," Chris said with a grin back. Susan's smile grew wider. "Oh, and a piece of advice, Mom: don't let Uncle Nathan anywhere near the kitchen if you can help it. To avoid any future food poisoning for any of the family, if you catch my meaning."

Susan looked at him, then upwards towards where Nathan and Haley were. "Yeah, thanks for the hint," she said dryly.

--

After they had finished dinner and dishes had been put into the dishwasher, the kitchen was sparkling clean again, the family stood up in the attic, saying their goodbyes.

"Say hi to Wyatt and Melinda for us, okay?" Nathan said as he hugged Keith. "Tell them that we'll be looking forward to seeing them as soon as they're born."

"We will," Peyton said as she hugged her parents. "Bye, you guys."

"Take care of yourself, honey," Brooke said, smiling through her tears. "Just stay safe, all right?"

"I'll try," Peyton assured her. She went to hug her aunts and uncles as Chris hugged Lucas and Brooke in turn before finally turning to his mother, who was looking sad at saying goodbye to her son.

Wrapping his arms around her, Chris held her tightly, praying that this wouldn't be the last time that he saw her. Even though everyone had assured him that the future had changed, he was still afraid of going back, afraid that she wouldn't be there.

"Take care of yourself, Chris," Susan whispered to him. "And try and look after the others, all right?"

"I'll try, Mom," Chris said as he pulled away. "But you know, nobody's a miracle worker. You see what I'm working with here." Keith swatted him and Peyton stuck out her tongue while the adults laughed. Chris smiled as he kissed his mom's cheek. "Bye, Mom."

"See you," she said softly as he joined his cousins by the Triquetra that they had drawn. It would open up the portal for them to get home. "You guys got a spell to get back here, in case something goes wrong, right?"

"Yeah, we got one," Chris assured her.

"Okay, well, come right back if something happens, all right? If anything changed that wasn't supposed to, come right back here," she ordered. "I mean it," she added when Keith chuckled.

"Yes, ma'am," Keith said meekly.

"Yes, Aunt Susan," Peyton said, grinning.

"Yes, Mom," Chris said, knowing perfectly well that his mom just didn't want them to go. "Oh, and by the way," he added, "if you guys want to get me an older brother, I'll be cool with that."

Shawn chuckled as Susan shook her head. "Well, we'll see, young man," she said dryly. She took her brothers hands. "You guys ready?" Chris, Keith, and Peyton nodded. "All right, let's do this before I change my mind."

_"From the future to the past,_

_Charmed children have come. _

_Return them now to whence they came,_

_open this door to the rightful time. _

_To restore what was moved, _

_let them cross the line of time."_

As the Triquetra glittered blue and white, the three children from the future cross through the attic, waving goodbye to their parents, aunts, and uncles as they walked into the portal. The moment that they disappeared, the Triquetra returned to its normal state and left the Charmed Ones and their spouses alone.

"I guess that's goodbye, then," Susan said softly, leaning her head against Shawn's. The Whitelighter slipped an arm around her, kissing the top of her head.

"Just for now," he told her. Then a mischievous look crossed his eyes and he grinned, scooping her up into his arms. "Now, what do you say we take a bit of our son's advice and get some practice?"

"_Shawn . . ._" Susan said, laughing while her brothers grimaced. The two orbed away and Lucas shook his head, running his fingers over his eyes.

"I'm not supposed to be comfortable with that, right?" he said dryly. "And what are we going to do about Anderson?"

"Vanquish him," Brooke said menacingly. "As soon as possible. He almost turned two of our children evil, Lucas. And besides, according to Chris, he succeeded in killing Susan's younger son in the future. I overheard them talking," she said guiltily when everyone stared at her.

"Well, let's deal with Anderson in the morning," Nathan said warily. "Right now, I think we all need a good night sleep."

"Agreed," Haley said, wrapping her arms around her husband. "It has been one very long day."

"I don't think Susan and Shawn are going to be getting much sleep, though."

"_Brooke!_"


	44. Sister's Woes

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Forty-four: Sister's Woes

Lucas climbed up the stairs to the attic, rubbing his head over his eyes tiredly. He had been trying to get to sleep after holding Brooke's hair back while she was bent over the toilet with morning sickness, but noises in the attic kept him awake. Miraculously, Brooke had been able to get to sleep almost instantly once she was done throwing up.

Walking through the open door, Lucas leaned against the doorframe, watching his little sister as she scribbled down some notes before tossing some ingredients into a cauldron. "Sue," he said, startling her, "it's two o'clock in the morning; what are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Susan said irritably, pushing her dark hair out of her eyes. "I'm trying to find a way to vanquish Anderson."

Suppressing a sigh, Lucas walked over to her and took a seat next to her. "Any luck?" he said gently.

"No, all of these potions are just a dead end," Susan grumbled. "I don't understand why I can find a way to vanquish him. It's not like it hasn't been done before; we did it in the future, apparently."

"Yeah, but you also weren't running yourself ragged trying to find a way to vanquish him," Lucas pointed out. He looked at his sister sternly. "Sue, going for days on end without any sleep working on spells and vanquishing potions isn't going to vanquish him any faster."

"I don't care," Susan's voice was so low that he could barely hear it. "Luke, I have to vanquish him. I've got to. How can you be so calm about this, anyway?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him. "He almost killed both of your kids and he nearly succeeded in turning your daughter—and then our nephew—to the dark side."

"Key word, almost," Lucas responded dryly. "That didn't happen this time, though."

"Well, there's a good chance that he could still kill my boy," Susan retorted, getting to her feet and crossing over to the Book. She pressed her palms on top of it, not opening it. "We have to stop him, Luke, he'll kill Ben if we don't. And I promised Chris that he'd be there when he got back to the future."

Lucas joined her by the Book. "But you didn't promise him that you would nearly end up in the hospital due to exhaustion while saving him," he replied. "You know, this could be the very thing that he was worried about, Sue, you nearly going crazy trying to figure how to stop Anderson. You know that's what happened in the future after Ben was killed. Don't worry so much, okay? We're going to save your son, I promise," he assured her. "It just might take some time to figure out how to do that."

Susan said nothing, just staring at the Book. "Now, come on, can you just trust me that we won't let anything happen to him?" Lucas asked her softly, rubbing circles around her back.

His sister's face scrunched up and she buried her face into his chest. Lucas hugged her tightly as soft sobs wracked from her. "Just promise me that we'll keep him safe," she whispered, her voice slightly choked.

"I promise," he assured her. He continued to hold his sister in the comforting embrace, rubbing circles around her back until he heard her rhythmic breathing. Looking down at his little sister, he saw that she had fallen asleep.

Slowly and gently, Lucas picked her up into his arms, carrying her gently out of the attic, trying not to wake her. Nathan appeared on the staircase, looking alarmed when he saw his brother carrying his sister out of the attic, but Lucas shook his head, nodding towards Susan's room, indicating his brother to open the door.

Quickly, Nathan opened the door for him and Lucas carried his sleeping sister into her room, settling her on the bed, pulling the covers over her. Once she was settled into her bed, he exited the room. Closing the door behind him, he looked at Nathan.

"She's taking this news about her son really hard, isn't she?" Nathan asked quietly as Lucas leaned against the door, letting out a slow breath.

"Well, you can't really blame her," Lucas pointed out. "One of her sons tells her that her other son was murdered by the same man who brought our father back from the dead and almost destroyed this family. I'd be surprised if she _wasn't_ acting this way."

"So, any activity on Anderson yet?" Nathan asked. "I mean, has he exposed himself since we last saw him?"

"As far as I know, no," Lucas admitted. "But since we triumphed in the last battle, I'd say that he's gonna regroup before he takes us on again. We're gonna need to be ready for him."

Nathan cocked an eyebrow. "Luke, we are definitely ready for him. Susan's got the entire kitchen stocked with various potions and she's been working for days on end for a vanquishing potion for Anderson. Besides, if all else fails, we can always come up with a Power of Three spell." He gave his brother a lopsided grin.

"All the same, I'd rather not be caught off guard with him," Lucas pointed out. "Let's get some sleep, but tomorrow, we definitely need to get to work on vanquishing him."

"And I thought the worse was over when we vanquished Dan again," Nathan grumbled. He headed back into his bedroom, closing the door behind him quietly. Lucas sighed, shaking his head as he returned to his and Brooke's room.

Closing the door, he climbed back onto the bed, trying not to wake his fiancée. Unfortunately, this attempt proved futile as she opened her eyes and peered over at him.

"Is everything okay, Luke?" she asked as she snuggled closer to him, laying her head onto his shoulder.

Wrapping on arm around her and drawing her close, Lucas shook his head. "I don't know, Brooke," he admitted. "But I have a feeling that if we don't vanquish Anderson soon, then we're gonna be losing Susan to insanity."

--

"Sir, if you want my honest opinion, I think that the best thing for you to do is to leave. Immediately, before they come after you," a demon told Anderson.

Glaring at the demon, Anderson retorted, "Well, I didn't ask for your opinion. Did your former master allow you to give your opinion when he didn't ask for it?"

The demon let out a sigh. "Mr. Anderson, sir, all I'm saying is that the Charmed Ones are formidable, not so easily defeated. And they have more than enough reason to vanquish all. After all, you nearly destroyed their lives again by bringing Mr. Scott back. Not to mention, our sources tell me that the sister's child was murdered in the future. Murdered by you."

"And this is reason to run because . . .?"

"Because you'll be surprised what a mother can do when her child is in danger. _Especially_ when that mother is a Charmed One."

"You think that this little girl can possibly stop me?" Anderson responded, waving his head dismissively. "She's only seventeen, just a child. The fact that she's a Charmed One changes nothing."

"Except the girl is no longer young. She's watched her mother die, her uncle, she's found her brothers and discovered that she's the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy, that she and her brothers are witches, her half-Whitelighter, had to vanquish her father, _twice_." The demon took a deep breath. "I was there, Anderson. That girl was anything but a child."

"Yes, speaking of, how did you escape from them when they vanquished their father? Surely they wouldn't have just let you escape."

The demon shrugged. "I shimmered away just before the blast took out Mr. Scott. As far as they know, I'm not even alive."

Anderson rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, that is perhaps something that we could use to our advantage. If the siblings have no knowledge of your continued existence, then perhaps you going after them will throw them off my trail for awhile, until I'm able to regroup some of my followers."

"I'm going to have no part of this plan."

"You forget that your former master passed over that ownership over to me. So long as you live, you are in my employment and must do as I say, no matter what. Now, I am ordering you to go after the siblings before I lose my temper."

"It's a suicide mission," the demon said stubbornly. "Mr. Anderson, if I may propose an alternate plan . . . perhaps the better way to go after them isn't to strike directly at them."

"Oh, really?" Anderson was nonplussed. "And tell me, demon, what is the better way that I go after them, if not at _them_?"

The demon walked forward. "Mr. Anderson, the siblings care about people, in some ways their emotions makes them strong. But now those emotions could be their undoing, if you go after someone that they care about."

"Like who? Miss Davis? Mrs. Scott? They're both protected. So will that Whitelighter," he added scowling at the ceiling. "Why is it that the Scott family always have to breed with Whitelighters? They're enough trouble without the cross-breeding."

"I can't answer that, but no, I wasn't talking about anybody that they were expecting, sir. No, the brothers' wives will be too well protected, and so will their Whitelighter. I was talking about someone with no connection to the magical world other than her connection with the siblings."

Anderson frowned. "And who might that be?"

The demon smirked, leaning forward. "And certain pretty, blonde artist friend of theirs," he answered. "I'm sure you know of her; most people in Tree Hill do. Peyton Sawyer?"


	45. Shapeshifting and Abductions

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Forty-five: Shape-Shifting and Abductions

Susan added another ingredient to the bubbling cauldron, stirring it as it gurgled, making a last minute correction to the potion that she was making. "_Please_ let it work this time," she muttered as she took a step back as a precautionary before tossing the last component to the potion.

She ducked behind the couch as the cauldron exploded, emerging a second later. "All right, I think this one worked," she said in relief, returning to the table and pouring the potion into a vial.

"What was _that_?" Brooke asked as she entered the attic, staring at the steaming cauldron.

"That was the latest in a series of potions that have been made to vanquish Anderson," Susan responded. "And I think this one worked this time."

"Good, that's really good," Brooke said cheerfully. Susan noticed that she was carrying her purse and jacket.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Peyton, Haley, and I are going out to the mall to see if we can find some stuff for the kids," Brooke answered. "Don't worry, both of us have potion bags in our purses, so we'll be prepared if anything happens."

"I wasn't going to comment, but thank you for relieving some of my anxiety," Susan told her.

"Hey, maybe since you finished with the vanquishing potion, you'd like to come with us?" Brooke suggested brightly. "Apart from getting out of the house, you would at least be able to protect us if anything happened. I mean, what powerful demon would think twice about attacking _any _of us if there was a Charmed One with us?"

Susan looked up, eyeing her soon-to-be-sister-in-law suspiciously. "Brooke, you've got that tone in your voice."

"What tone?"

"The one when you're trying to manipulate people into doing what _you_ want them to do instead of what _they_ want to do."

Brooke scowled. "Actually, it's what _Lucas_ wants you to do, but that's beside the point. And besides, he's actually right. Other than going to school, you've been isolating yourself up here ever since Chris and the twins went back to the future."

"I have not been isolating myself; I have been trying to find a way to vanquish Anderson so we can get on with our lives," Susan corrected.

"Which you've done," Brooke pointed out. "Okay? We've got a potion that we can use if we need it, Anderson isn't gonna attack anytime soon, so please just come with us so your big brother will stop worrying about you?" Susan didn't budge. "Fine. If you won't do if for your brother, will you at _least_ do it for your niece and nephew? Because him worrying is driving me crazy and that stress cannot be good for the twins."

Susan shook her head. "Fine," she surrendered. "I'll go. But I reserve the right to bail whenever I want."

"Great, just as long as you get out of this hole," Lucas commented as he stuck his head into the attic.

"Just put this is some more vials and keep one with you, okay?" Susan sighed as she walked away from the potion, slipping the vial into her pocket. "I'm pretty sure this one is going to work. And call me if something happens, if a demon attacks or—"

"We got it," Lucas interrupted her, shaking his head. "Now get out of here, I mean it." He ushered the girls out of the attic. "Don't worry, Sue, we will call you if anything happens, I promise."

"You'd better."

Lucas sighed in relief as he pushed the door closed behind his sister, leaning against it. Returning to the attic, he walked to the potion and smirked. "Very nice vanquishing potion, Whitelighter," he remarked, an energy ball appearing in his hand as he destroyed it. "Too bad you won't get to try it."

Immediately, he shape-shifted into Anderson. "Demon!" he called and the demon appeared. "The sister has gone with the brothers' wives and the Sawyer girl. They'll be at the mall."

"It will be done as you wish, sir." The demon shimmered out. Anderson glanced around as the brothers' voices started carrying up to the attic and he, too, shimmered away.

"Jeez, did Susan decide to destroy the attic this time?" Nathan asked as he surveyed the scene in front of him. "Where'd she go, anyway?"

Lucas sighed. "I asked Brooke to try and talk to Susan about going with her, Peyton, and Haley to the mall. Hopefully it'll get her mind off of demon hunting for awhile."

"Yeah, hopefully," Nathan said with a grin as he touched the cauldron to clean up the ruined potion.

And immediately was pulled into a premonition. In his mind's eye, he saw the girls being attacked in the parking by the same demon who had kidnapped his sister several months beforehand. As a fireball hit Susan, Anderson shimmered in, grabbed Peyton from behind, and shimmered out with her again.

"Nate?" Lucas looked at him as the premonition ended. Nathan stared at his brother in shock. "Nathan, what happened? What'd you see?"

"The girls being attacked," Nathan said quickly. "And then Peyton being kidnapped by Anderson."

Acting as one, both brothers ran from the attic, down the stairs, out the front door and into the car, determined to stop this premonition from coming true before they lost an Innocent.

--

"Remind me again why the pregnant girls had to sit in the backseat?" Brooke said grumpily as she slouched in her seat, glaring at the back of Susan's seat.

"Because if something hits us, then you'll have something between you and the windshield," Susan said cheerfully. "Extra padding."

Peyton snorted as she drove, then glanced over at Susan as Haley and Brooke started talking. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Susan agreed. "I'm just dealing with some stuff." She looked out the window, not really wanting to get into it.

"So I hear," Peyton said. At Susan's questioningly look, Peyton shrugged. "Uh, Lucas filled me in on the future situation. How you holding up with everything?"

"About as well as could be expected." Susan sighed, holding her head into her hand as they pulled into the parking lot, driving up and down the lanes. "You know, it was barely year ago that Mom was killed and I came looking for my brothers. I never expected all of this time come from that. It's amazing how much your life can change with one little thing. I mean . . . I can barely even remember who I was before Lucas and Nathan. That person was _completely_ different."

"I know what you mean." Susan looked at her. "Nobody's the same person that they were a year ago, Susan. Every decision can change your life, for better or worse."

Susan managed a weak chuckle. "Careful, you almost sounded like a Whitelighter there."

"Too cliché?"

"Just a tad. There's a spot," she said, pointing to where a van was pulling out in front.

"I'm on it." Peyton steered the car into the empty space and the girls climbed out of the car. Susan rooted on the spot when she sensed someone shimmer in.

"Guys, look out!" she shouted, throwing herself instinctively out of harm's way. She looked up and her eyes widened when she recognised the demon that had been with her father on the day that he died. The first time. "How . . .?" she whispered.

"Brooke, get down!" Peyton shouted, yanking her best friend to the ground, only to be in the way of a fireball herself. Susan flicked her wrists and the energy ball froze.

"Move!" Susan ordered and the artist hurried out of the way a moment before the fireball unfroze. It was launched onto the building, leaving a scorch mark behind. She looked towards the demon, glaring at him. "I don't know how you got out of there alive, but you're not going to make it this time."

"It's not me that you're going to have to worry about, witch." The demon raised his eyebrows as he started to shimmer away. In mid-shimmer, Susan flicked her wrists and froze the entire parking lot.

"_Demon who hunts us here,_

_praying on witches and mortals welfare._

_Upon the ancient power, we vanquish thee,_

_with these words, so let it be."_

The demon exploded in a series of fire and the streets unfroze, moving as though nothing had happened. Susan looked towards the others, relieved that everything was fine again, but her relief immediately vanished.

"Peyton, behind you!" she shouted.

Whirling around, Peyton barely had time to register Anderson seizing her before she was shimmered out involuntarily. The three magical women stared in horror at where she had been seconds before as the screeching of tires caught their attention.

"What the heck are you guys doing here?" she demanded as Nathan pulled up behind them, looking alarmed as he saw them there, minus one member of the crew.

"Looking for you," Lucas answered hastily. "Nathan had a premonition, are you guys okay?"

"Where's Peyton?"

Brooke had gone dead white, gripping Lucas by the arm. "She—she's gone," she whispered. "Anderson took her. I don't understand; why would he do that? She's not a witch or a Whitelighter, she's not any threat to him! Why—why would he do that? How could he . . ."

"But she does have a connection to the magical world," Susan said grimly. "Through us. He's using her to get to us. Come on, let's get home. Luke, did you get those vials like I told you?" she asked him.

Lucas stared at her in confusion, shaking his head. "Sue, what—what are you talking about? What vials?"

"For the vanquishing potion," Susan prompted. "Lucas, I told you to fill the rest of the vials for the potion to vanquish Anderson. You said that you would take care of it."

"Susan, this is the first time that I've seen you since we got home from school and you went up to the attic," Lucas told her, more confused than ever before. "The potion in the attic was destroyed, from the looks of it."

"It wasn't when I left!" Susan exclaimed, then stopped. "That wasn't you," she said in realisation. Lucas shook his head slowly.

"Anderson," Brooke breathed. "Oh, I _thought_ I sensed something different about his thought signature."

"Okay, Brooke, next time, do you think that you could maybe mention that?" Susan demanded.

"Arguments later," Haley ordered. "Right now, we need to get home and try and find them before he does something to her."


	46. The Nexus

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Forty-six: The Nexus

"Brooke, just calm down, okay? We'll find her," Lucas assured his fiancée while his sister flipped anxiously through the Book. "She has to be somewhere."

"Yeah," Susan said sarcastically. "Probably down in the Underworld so that Anderson can hold her captive while he figures out a way to kill us. What?" she asked as both her brothers threw her disgruntled looks. "That's _what_ he's trying to do."

"Yeah, but you don't have to express it so casually," Nathan replied. "Okay, first things first, do you remember what you put in that potion that you were going to use on him?"

Susan shook her head. "No, the ingredients were on that table there," she said, walking over and picking up a burnt piece of paper lying next to the cauldron. It disintegrated as she picked it up, the ashes dropping down onto the table.

"So we're gonna have to come up with a potion to do that," Lucas sighed. Susan shook her head.

"No, actually, we're not gonna have to," she admitted, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing a vial with a bright green potion in it. "I said that I don't remember the potion, but I got it into one vial before I left here."

"Sue, that's _great_!" Nathan cheered. "Now we can get down and vanquish him to wherever demons go before he does anything to Peyton."

"Yeah, but we're gonna have to be sure not to use it until the last possible second," Susan pointed out. "Because we've only got one shot at this. All he knows is that the potion I made is destroyed; I doubt that he has any idea that we still have a vial of the potion. Which means we have the element of surprise right now."

"So, what do we do?" Brooke asked quietly.

"You two stay here," Lucas said gently. "I know you hate my being protective over you, Brooke, but he's already tried to kill the twins once. We can't take the chance. Please, just let us handle this."

Brooke glared at him, but reluctantly submitted.

"Okay, there's a bunch of potions down in the kitchen," Susan said, "we should probably take some just in case he's got some of his demons with him. And you guys should keep some with you at all times in case he decides to attack here."

"Don't worry, I'll orb us out of here if anybody shows up," Haley assured her.

"Just keep them by you to be on the safe side," Nathan said as they headed downstairs and into the kitchen.

Susan grabbed a few vials, tossing some to her brothers and sisters-in-law. "Mostly they're just vanquishing potions, but there are those in that top cabinet that will paralyse an attacker. Those there will slow an attacker down, but otherwise won't do any real damage. The—"

"Okay, we got it covered!" Brooke exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry about us, we'll be fine. Go on and vanquish Anderson so we can get back to a somewhat normal life."

"Since when has anything around this house been even in the neighbourhood of normal?" Susan responded, wrinkling her nose at the telepath. Brooke shrugged as Lucas and Nathan walked over to Susan, taking her hands before she orbed out to the Underworld.

Haley glanced at Brooke. "There is no way that this could possibly end well," she said quietly.

The telepath slowly nodded as she sank down onto the table, placing her hands protectively over her stomach. _Don't worry, babies, Daddy will be back, _she told them telepathically. _Besides, if he isn't, Mommy will summon him back and have a few words with him. _

--

Peyton tried to push the door to the cage that she was in, but only succeeded in getting herself zapped by a jolt of electricity and flung backwards against the other side of the cage. "Great, this is just great," she grumbled, getting to her feet.

"Having a good time, Miss Sawyer?" The demon that had kidnapped her suddenly appeared outside of the cave and she glared at him.

"No, can't say that I really am," she replied. "What do you _want_ with me? What did you bring me here for?"

"It's nothing personal," Anderson replied calmly. "I just have some business against the siblings and you are my way out of it. You see, they care about you very much, Miss Sawyer, so they'll do anything to make sure that you're safe from harm. Even give me what it is that I want."

"And what exactly is that? If you want one of their kids again, I doubt they'll let you anywhere near them."

Anderson laughed. "Oh, believe me, I'm not interested in any of their offspring this time. No, my interests are not in their children nor of anything about their family. It's . . . more of something that the siblings are in the custody of, now that they own the Scott manor. The manor has been in the family for generations, passed for parent to child. Dan and Keith inherited it from their mother, then it passed to the siblings. And there is something inside of it that is of great interest to me."

"Like the Book of Shadows?"

"It repels evil. I would do no good getting that. Perhaps another time, but not today. The Charmed Ones are not even aware of this particular magic that dwells within the manor." He smirked. "This piece of magic is known as the Nexus."

A chill went up Peyton's spine. _That _didn't sound good, she thought as Anderson looked at her.

"Do you have any idea what a spiritual nexus is, Miss Sawyer?"

"It's a point of incredible energy," Peyton answered immediately. "It's a place set at equal distance between the elements. Earth, fire, water, wood, and metal."

"Exactly," Anderson said. "Interesting that a mere mortal should know that. But then, considering you're friends with them, you would know that. A spiritual nexus can be sway either way. It will be either a source of undeniable good or undeniable evil."

"And that's what this . . . Nexus is, that you want in their house?" Peyton took a deep breath. "So how do you plan on getting it? The house is protected by them."

"Not for long," Anderson replied calmly. "You see, when they come for you, then the house will be unprotected. The telepath and the Whitelighters won't be able to hold me off from it. Not for long anyway. And by the time that the siblings come back from rescuing you, then I'll already have control of the Nexus. And the evil from there will spread."

Peyton shook her head. "What do you _really_ think that you're going to accomplish by doing this?"

"Well, the power of the Nexus will be enough to combat the Power of Three. Either they will die or I will, but one way or another, it will end. And if I die, then there will be many more that will try and confront the Charmed Ones. But if they die," he added. "If _they_ die, then there will be no one who will be able to oppose me. I will take over. First the Underworld and then the entire magical community will be answerable to me."


	47. Attack and Escape

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Forty-seven: Attack and Escape

When they materialised in the Underworld, Susan crouched down behind some rock, watching as Anderson paced back and forth by Peyton, who was trapped inside of a cage. The blonde artist looked a mess. Her hair was grimy and unkempt, her face was streaked with dirt and tears, and her clothes were dishevelled.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Nathan whispered as he squatted down beside his sister and brother.

"I'm not sure yet," Susan whispered back. "You guys see any other demons? What's he playing at? He's not stupid enough to go after us by himself after what happened last time."

"He was smart enough to know to go after Peyton," Lucas pointed out. "Right now, he's got leverage over us."

"But why? What for?"

Both of her brothers shrugged as Susan unconsciously reached for her pocket to reassure herself that the potion was still there. "All right, we're not going to do anybody any good just by sitting here," Lucas said quietly. "I think we should go in there."

Susan nodded in agreement. "Let's get this over with," she agreed, getting to her feet. Grabbing one of the potions that she'd brought with her, she launched into a fighting stance and threw the potion towards Anderson.

Immediately, the demon turned and threw a fireball at the potion, making it explode. "Oh, my," he said mockingly. "You didn't really think that you three were going to stop me with one measly little potion, now did you?" he asked as Lucas and Nathan joined their sister.

"What do you want?" Nathan demanded as Anderson stepped closer.

"I would've thought that would be obvious, boy." Anderson's sneer made a chill go down Susan's spine. "Your heads on a platter."

"Now _that's_ disgusting," Susan grumbled.

"But first, let's see how well you deal with this," Anderson added. A half a dozen demons appeared and he shimmered out, leaving them to deal with them.

"How many times is he gonna leave to have us deal with his minions?" Nathan complained as he threw potion after potion at the demons. Susan froze the room, shaking her head.

"Sue, what are you doing?" Lucas asked as he got to his feet.

"I'm sick of this," she said, unfreezing Peyton. "Get down, Peyton. Guys, you might want to stand behind something." The brothers did as she instructed as Susan herself stood a good yard away from the nearest demon. Peyton got as far from the demons as she could get in the cage.

Yanking out a purple vial, Susan thrust it towards the middle of the room. The moment that it landed, it was as though a bomb had exploded within the room. Every demon within reach of the potion was vanquished and seconds later, the entire room was clear of any demonic form.

"_What was that_?"

"Potion," Susan said weakly her little brother. "Highly explosive and should only be used in a dire situation. Peyton, you all right?"

"Yeah." The artist pushed open the door of the cage, which had been blown off the hinges by the blast, and climbed out of the prison she'd been in. "Thanks for saving me, guys, but you guys are going to have some problems on your hands. We should get back to your house, now."

"Why? What's going on?" Lucas wanted to know as she joined them, her green eyes worried and alarmed. "Where's Anderson going, anyway?"

"To the manor," Peyton said, her impatience showing in her voice. "He wasn't after you guys this time, or even me, he's after this thing at your house called the Nexus."

"The Nexus," Nathan echoed, frowning. "What's the Nexus? I've never even heard of it."

Peyton launched into an explanation of what a spiritual nexus us and by the time that she was finished, Susan had gone dead white. "So what he wants is use this Nexus to try and kill us?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Never mind!" Susan grabbed their hands and orbed them out before anybody could get another word it. "We'll talk about this after we stop Anderson from getting that Nexus! I don't care if I have to destroy that thing myself, I'm gonna make sure that he doesn't get it!"

--

Brooke flipped through the magazine that she was looking at, hardly paying attention to what she was looking at. "You think they're okay?" she asked Haley, who was sitting on the couch across from her, the Book of Shadows lying in her lap.

"They'd better be," Haley said quietly, slamming the Book shut. The Whitelighter ran a hand through her light brown hair while the other hand rested on her stomach. Her pregnancy wasn't visible just yet, the baby bump only slightly proceeding. If Brooke hadn't been looking for it, she wouldn't have known that it was there.

"So, uh, how come you guys chose the name Wyatt, anyway?" Brooke asked, trying to pull both of their attentions away from their worry about the siblings. "I mean, besides Keith and Chris coming back from the future and _telling_ us his name."

"Actually, we knew before that," Haley admitted. "When Susan saw Keith right before they vanquished Dan the first time, he took her to the future and she saw all of our kids. That's how they figured out what happened to Peyton in the original future. She saw you guys' daughters there, but she didn't see your son. I guess Keith was trying to warn them about what was to come."

Brooke blinked. "Lucas failed to mention that," she complained. "How many daughters am I supposed to _have_ anyway?"

"Oh, come on, don't you want anything to be a surprise?" Haley asked with a dubious smile. "You already know that you're going to have two kids and what their gender is going to be. What more do you want to know?"

"Spoilsport," Brooke grumbled. "But seriously, how did you come up with Wyatt's name?"

"It's Nathan's middle name," Haley answered. "So all we have to do is come up with a middle name for Wyatt."

"I thought Keith said it was going to be Matthew. At least, that's what I thought he said when he was saying the spell to vanquish Dan. Of course, most of it was gibberish."

Haley shot her a half-amused look. "None of it was gibberish, Brooke. It was Latin. Your boy can actually speak Latin. Which is pretty impressive, since I would've expected mine or Susan's to be the ones with the language capability."

"Why is that?"

"Because Whitelighters have the ability to speak any language that their charge is speaking," Haley answered.

Brooke immediately perked up in interest. "Hmm, then maybe I should've bred with a Whitelighter," she said thoughtfully. "It would make my kids passing Spanish a whole lot easier."

"Uh . . . I think that would fall under the personal gain category," Haley said wryly.

"Uh-uh, that language speaking thing is a Whitelighter power, so it doesn't necessarily fall under the personal gain category." Brooke grinned just as they heard a noise in the kitchen. Her head whipped around towards the room in question before looking at Haley. "Did you hear that?"

Haley got to her feet, picking up some of the potion vials as she began walking to the kitchen. Brooke grabbed her own as she followed the Whitelighter.

The two girls followed the noise through the kitchen, but the room was empty and looking just as it had when the siblings had left over an hour ago.

"See anything?" Brooke asked quietly, looking at Haley.

Shaking her head, Haley was about to dismiss the noise as nothing when she caught sight of the open door leading to the basement. Silently, she pointed it out to Brooke and they made their way to the door.

"One," Brooke whispered.

"Two," Haley added quietly.

"Three!" both of them said at the same time and yanked the door open, plunging down the steps and into the basement just in time to see Anderson chanting a spell.

"_Natum adai necral—_

_Daya intay loyok"_

(AN: Spell taken from "Scry Hard" and "Something Wicca This Way Goes . . .?")

"What the . . ." Brooke gasped as something rose from the floor, creating a hole in it and spilled into Anderson, engulfing him in the darkness. Her eyes went wide as he turned towards the two girls.

"Nice to see you two again," he said. Brooke's skin crawled at the sound of it. Before, he had sounded almost human, but now . . . now he sounded completely demonic. "And now I'm going to enjoy getting even with those wretched siblings and killing the two of you."

Haley pushed Brooke behind her as an energy ball was flung her way and Wyatt's blue shield immediately went up, protecting both himself and his mother from harm.

"GO!" Haley ordered, pushing Brooke up the stairs. The telepath's eyes wide, but she obeyed. The girls raced up the stairs, into the kitchen, and back into the living room. Grabbing the Book of Shadows, Haley reached for Brooke just as another energy ball was shot towards them.

Ducking to avoid it, Haley grabbed Brooke and both of them disappeared into a series of blue and white lights, heading towards safety.


	48. Rendezvous at Karen's

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Forty-eight: Rendezvous at Karen's 

"This is a disaster," Lucas said as Haley finished healing Peyton. After they'd orbed out of the Underworld to the manor, they'd immediately been under attack by Anderson, who had already taken in the Nexus. With no other option but to retreat, they had orbed to Karen's, where they had found Brooke and Haley.

"I think if we're going to fight this demon or whatever it is, then we're gonna have to know what we're up against," Susan said as she came back into the kitchen. She was carrying a map, a marker, a ruler, and some stickers. "Okay, so you said that a spiritual nexus is the centre of the five basal elements, right?" she asked Peyton, who nodded. "Well, let's see what we got here."

Lucas joined her by the map. "Okay, well, there's the river there, for water," he said, nodding towards the river on the opposite side of Tree Hill. Susan placed a purple sticker on the map where their house was and then measured from their house to the river, placing a blue sticker on it.

She moved the ruler around the map from the manor until she reached another place. "The cave over by Gladys Street?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"There's natural hot springs underneath that," Nathan said as he looked through the Book.

The two elder Charmed Ones looked at their brother and Lucas marked it with a red sticker. "All right, that's fire," Susan said. "Okay, what about that park that you said Keith took you to when you were a kid, Luke? Where was that at?"

Lucas was already pointing to it. "Hugh McRae Park," he answered, marking it with a brown sticker as Susan measured it. "Okay, there's three of them. What about earth?"

"Bellview cemetery?" Susan suggested, nodding to where their uncle had been buried. Lucas's throat tightened, but he nodded as a green sticker was marked for it. "Okay, what about metal?"

"Dunno." Lucas rubbed his head, trying to think of something that would help. "Hey, Nathan," he said suddenly. He looked over at their brother. "Do you remember where it was that we panned for gold in the forth grade?"

Nathan walked over to the map and tapped on a place on it, which was marked with a gold sticker. "There."

(AN: Hugh McRae Park and Bellview cemetery are actually locations in Wilmington, where One Tree Hill is filmed.)

The other three gathered around as Susan started drawing lines across the map, connecting the five points. Lucas frowned when he saw the star-shaped form that had emerged.

"So our house was built in the middle of a pentagram?" Nathan asked, looking around at them.

"Looks like it's not just built on a spiritual nexus," Susan said slowly, "but a Wiccan one as well."

"What does that mean?"

"It means," Susan answered Peyton, "that it's a battleground for good and evil. Once evil has the house, then it spreads from there. Offhand, I'd say that there's a _really_ good reason why our family built that house there. So that they could reclaim the spot for good."

"And now evil wants it back," Haley said quietly.

"But why?" Brooke asked as she looked anxiously between the group at large. "What does he wanted with it?"

Lucas, Nathan, and Susan looked at each other, then at Brooke. "What does he _usually_ want when it's anything concerning us?" Susan answered simply. "To kill us."

Brooke glared at her. "Okay, that is _not_ helping matters," she grumbled towards the witch-Whitelighter. She rubbed her forehead, looking agitated. "I can't take much more of this."

"Then why don't you go relax?" Lucas suggested. "We can take it from here, Brooke."

"Stop worrying so much, Lucas," Brooke snapped. "And besides—relax? Where exactly am I supposed to do that? Our house is probably being run over by demons by now."

"You can relax in my room," he said, gesturing towards his old bedroom, which his mom was halfway through converting into his new sister's room. "Mom hasn't gotten rid of my bed just yet. Come on," he added, ushering her towards the bedroom.

Nathan shook his head. "All right, well, the first thing we need to do is figure out how to get rid of that Nexus thing."

"Isn't there a spell in the Book?"

"I've been looking, but there isn't really anything that could help us," Nathan said, flipping through the pages. "You know, we should really put an index in this thing or something. It's too hard to find stuff in here when we're in a hurry to find it."

"If it makes you feel any better, if we don't figure out a way to stop Anderson and the Nexus, then we're probably not going to be alive long enough to worry about that."

Nathan, Peyton, and Haley all glared at her pessimistic attitude. "Oh, yeah, that's making me feel _so_ much better," Nathan told her. "We've still got your potion, so all we need to do is—"

He stopped talking as soon as he was thrust into a premonition. There were two men that he knew lived across the street from them arguing back and forth, getting into a brawl as it continued. As it ended, he looked up at the three women who were staring at him.

"Premonition?" Susan asked.

"Oh, yeah," Nathan answered, running his hands over his face. "You said that once evil has control of the house, it starts to spread, right?" Susan nodded. "Well, I think it's starting to. I saw it affecting our neighbours."

"How bad?"

"Well, nothing life-threatening . . . yet. Just a lot of arguing and punching and . . ."

"Great," Lucas said as he joined them. He reached for the Book. "Okay, what _haven't_ you tried looking under for the Nexus?"

"Nothing! I've tried everything, but there isn't anything in there on the Nexus! I don't think that any of our ancestors saw fit to add it to the Book!"

Almost as soon as Nathan had finished speaking, the Book flipped open as some unknown force starting flipping through the pages. "Okay, why is it doing that?" Peyton demanded in shock as it landed on a page. "How is it doing that?" she added weakly.

"Oh, don't worry, it just does that sometimes," Susan assured her. "And we've learned to just listen to its advice."

"With good reason," Lucas answered as he pulled the Book into his lap. "So much for not being in here, huh, Nate? _To Banish the Nexus_," he read the title aloud.

Nathan blushed. "Okay, so I wasn't really looking that hard. I just don't see how banishing the Nexus is going to help. We've got the potion to use on Anderson."

"Yes, but there's no guarantee that it is going to work with Anderson in possession of the Nexus," Haley pointed out. "The only way that we know it will work is if it works on Anderson.

"So if we say the spell and get rid of the Nexus, then we'll be able to use the potion and get rid of Anderson. Then this nightmare will be over," Lucas answered.

"Nope," Susan muttered. "This is only the beginning." She read the entry over Lucas's shoulder. "Okay, there's a small problem, though, you guys. We have to be in the basement in order to trap the Nexus again. If we're not down there, then the spell is useless."

"So we have to get back in the house, which is most likely to be overrun by demons by now, and get into the basement without anybody noticing that the Charmed Ones are in their own house," Nathan said sarcastically.

Lucas chuckled, but shook his head. "All right, so we need a plan. Anybody got any ideas?" he asked, looking around at his brother and sister.

Susan sighed, running her hands through her dark hair. Something flickered behind her blue-green eyes and she looked at her brothers. "Yeah, I think that I might have something," she answered.

Lucas cocked his head as he inspected the look that his little sister was wearing. Suppressing a sigh, he asked despairingly, "Why do I have the feeling that I am not going to like this plan?"

"Oh, you are going to hate it," Susan said with a laugh.


	49. Problems at the Manor

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Forty-nine: Problems at the Manor

Shawn orbed into the living room of the manor, looking around as he materialised. "Susan?" he called, scanning the scene for his girlfriend. "Nathan? Lucas? Anybody here?"

Closing his eyes, he tried to sense his charges just as a squeak emerged from the room just beyond. Eyes flying open, he edged towards the room in question, peering around the wall. "What the . . ." he muttered when he saw the demons that were barricading the room.

"You two!"

Shawn looked towards the demon who had barked, eyes widening when he saw Anderson walking towards them. He didn't need to look twice to know that something had happened. But where were the siblings? Where were Haley and Brooke?

"Any sign of the siblings?" Anderson asked, voicing Shawn's thoughts. Both demons shook their heads. "Well, keep an eye out. Those meddlesome witches are not going to stay hidden for very long. Especially now that evil has the house."

"Anderson, you really should reconsider this plan and forget the siblings. You can go after them later, after you have the support of the entire Underworld. Really, you must go after him now, before the siblings come and vanquish you."

"Do you really have that much lack of faith in me?" Anderson demanded, glaring at him. "The siblings are my first priority. With the Charmed Ones dead, then no one will be able to question my authority in the Underworld. Not even the Source."

"But to take him out would be _so_ much simpler than trying to take out the siblings, sir. They are said to be unstoppable. Not even their own father was able to thwart them. Not until you have both the powers of the Nexus and are coronated as the new Source should you—"

"Do you dare question my authority?" Anderson conjured an energy ball, holding it threateningly.

The demon lowered his gaze, shaking his head wildly. "No, sir," he answered. The energy ball vanished. "Do you wish for us to go out and lure them back here?"

"No. They will come here eventually, when they discover what exactly the Nexus is and what it can do." Anderson paused, a small smile crossing his face as he looked around the room. "There's a stranger in our midst."

Shawn froze, his brain screaming at him to orb. But no matter how hard he concentrated, he couldn't make himself dematerialise. _Come on, you idiot, orb!_ he yelled at himself.

"Hello, Whitelighter," Anderson said, appearing before him. "Welcome to the party." A few sinister chuckles emerged before he felt the back of his head explode with pain.

He didn't need to know that the demons were standing behind him, holding a bat as it collided with the back of his head. The next minute, he was toppled over onto the ground, losing consciousness.

The last thing that he remembered before passing out was that there was no possible way that this was going to end well. He just prayed that Susan and her brothers had enough common sense to know to stay away from the manor until Anderson was well enough away.

--

Lucas watched his sister, disguised as an older, blonde demon, climbed the staircase to the manor. If he hadn't known it was her, he probably wouldn't have guessed that this was his sister. "I guess that Whitelighter ability does come in handy sometimes," he remarked. Haley chuckled. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"Well, we have to do something, otherwise Anderson is going to override the entire town, bent on killing us," Nathan said. "Besides, that premonition that I had is only the beginning, Luke. If we don't do something, this entire town is going to be destroyed, piece by piece."

"Okay, so once she gets inside, she's gonna call for Haley, right?" Peyton asked. "How is it that she'll be able to hear her?"

Brooke looked at her best friend. "After everything that you've seen concerning us, this is what surprises you?" she asked. Peyton managed a weak smile. "Nathan, are you okay?"

Looking towards his brother, Lucas realised that the youngest Charmed One was slightly pale. "I don't know," Nathan said quietly. "But I've got this horrible feeling that something is gonna go wrong." He shook his head. "It feels like . . ."

"A premonition?" Lucas suggested, looking at his brother while trying to keep an eye on the house.

Nathan shook his head. "Not exactly," he admitted. "It's more like . . . sensing that something is going to go wrong. I don't know how to describe it. I guess it feels like a premonition that won't come out." He gave an aggravated noise, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Well, we have the spell, we've got a way to get inside," Brooke said reasonably. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Everyone looked at her in exasperation. "Why is it that whenever somebody says that, it's when things go really wrong?" Nathan demanded, shaking his head.

"Shut up, Nathan," Brooke grumbled. Suddenly, a pained look crossed her face. "Ooh." She placed her hands over her stomach, rubbing it gently.

"Brooke, are you okay?" Lucas asked, immediately at her side. She looked up at him, smiled, and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she agreed. "But I think that I'm definitely going to be a soccer mom. One of the twins is really kicking. Jeez." She rubbed her stomach again as Lucas looked at her in amazement.

"The babies are _kicking_?" he asked her. She nodded, grinning wildly, and allowed him to place his hands over her stomach. Lucas could feel the kick of one of the twins against her abdomen. "Whoa . . . man, that is unbelievable. That is definitely our daughter."

Brooke shook her head wildly. "Uh-uh. Nope, that is definitely Keith, not Peyton."

"Nah, it's Peyton."

"Keith."

"Peyton.

"Lucas, do not argue with the woman who is currently carrying your kids and who is throwing up twenty-four/seven and hormonal. Trust me, that is not a good idea, considering the circumstances." Brooke placed her hands on her hips. "It's _Keith_."

"Shut up, Nathan," Lucas complained as Nathan doubled over in laughter. "Your wife is going to be the one who is hormonal over the next nine months too."

"You're naming your daughter Peyton?" Peyton asked suddenly, looking torn between disbelief and moved.

"Yep." Brooke grinned wickedly. "Peyton Marie Sawyer, after my best friend."

"I thought your middle name was Elizabeth," Nathan said, looking confusedly between the two women.

"Yeah, it is," Peyton muttered, shaking her head at Brooke, who was laughing. "Put the initials together, Nate, and what do you get?"

"Uh . . . P.M.—oh!"

"Yeah." Peyton glanced towards Haley, who was looking worriedly up at the manor. "Haley, what's the matter?"

"Guys, shouldn't Susan have called for us or something?" she asked, frowning. "She's been in there for awhile."

"Maybe she can't get to the basement," Nathan suggested, but he didn't look like he believed it.

Lucas had enough of this. Grabbing his sister-in-law's hand, he immediately ordered, "Haley, orb us in there!"

As the rest of the gang grabbed hands, linking Haley with the others, she closed her eyes, preparing to orb the company. Then she opened her eyes, looking afraid.

"Haley, what is it? What's wrong?"

But Lucas knew the answer immediately when he saw Haley's terrified and alarmed face.

"I can't orb."


	50. Losing an Innocent

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Fifty: Losing an Innocent

Susan kept a sharp eye out as she walked through the manor, frowning slightly. It felt so strange to be sneaking around her own house, but she knew that she couldn't afford to let her guard down. Anderson could be anywhere around here.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped further into the manor, immediately spotting two demon guards by the stairs.

Rolling her eyes, Susan walked up to them, about to pass right through when one of them stopped her. "Hey, who are you and what do you think that you're doing here?" he demanded.

Tossing a sheet of her (currently) blonde hair back, Susan asked in an annoyed tone, "What's the matter? Don't you recognise me? Boss asked me to come here. Said that we had some business to discuss." She twirled the athame that she had "borrowed" from a vanquished demon in her hands. "After all, he's going to need all of the help that he can get if he means to take out the Charmed Ones."

The guards glanced at each other, then looked at the second-born Charmed One suspiciously. "How did you know about that?" the other guard asked her, frowning. "Nobody other than the demons in this house are supposed to know about that."

"Like I said," Susan answered, "the boss asked me to come here. Besides, currently I am in this house. So where is he?" The demons hesitated, uncertain. "Fine. But if you make me late, then I'm just going to blame you for this. What are your names, by the way? Because I will want to make sure that you both get special treatment for letting me through."

"Anguis and Corvus," the first guard answered immediately. "Sorry for holding you up. The boss is downstairs. So far there's been no sign of the siblings. We should be going after the Source," he grumbled.

"The Source?" Susan echoed, surprise evident in her voice. Thankfully, they thought it was a surprise of the plan rather than confusion on the identity of the person they were talking about.

"Shouldn't tell her that right off, Anguis," Corvus snapped. "Not until the boss decides that he's ready. Go on through," he added, allowing Susan to continue on through the entryway.

She debated freezing the demons so that she could vanquish them with the athame, but decided to wait until her brothers came.

As she entered the kitchen, she looked around to make sure that there was nobody there. "Haley?" she whispered as softly as she dared without any of the demons in the house overhearing. "Haley, come on, it's time. Haley!" she tried again when nobody orbed in.

Panic rose through her when she realised that something was wrong; her sister-in-law was _not_ answering her call. But they were right outside, waiting for her to call for them, how could she _not _answer?

"Blast it, Haley!" she hissed, the disguised blue-green eyes (having turned brown) flittering around the room, waiting for her family to appear. "Where are you?"

Trying to stay calm while apprehension was rising through her at an alarming rate, Susan heard a noise coming from the basement. Turning her head towards the room in question, she slowly walked towards the steps, climbing down them slowly and careful. As she reached the last step, a horrible scene met her eyes.

Her Whitelighter was lying on the ground, every inch of his face black and blue, his right eyes nearly swollen shut, and his lower lip was bleeding heavily. From the way that he was lying, she suspected broken ribs.

Letting out an exclamation, Susan immediately rushed to his side, ignoring her instincts and morphing back into herself. "Shawn!" she exclaimed, shaking his shoulder gently. She wasn't even sure that he was still alive just by looking at him. But she could feel a steady heartbeat underneath her touch, his chest rising and falling with each pulse. "Shawn, it's Susan, can you hear me?"

"Not for awhile yet," a cold voice said. Susan whirled around, dark hair flying into her face as she stared at Anderson. "Interesting trick, little Whitelighter. Where's the rest of your pathetic family?"

"Scared away," Susan said fiercely, sounding braver than she felt. She moved protectively in front of Shawn, who uttered a soft groan.

Anderson smirked. "Liar." He walked towards her, an energy ball appearing in his hands as he held it threateningly towards her. "Now, I am going to ask you this only one more time: where are they?" When she didn't answer, he shouted, "WHERE ARE THEY?"

A rogue smile crossed Susan's lips. "I thought that you said you were only going to ask me one more time?" she questioned daringly. Anderson's eyes flashed and he launched the energy ball towards her.

Susan made an attempt to orb both herself and Shawn out of the way, to no avail. She realised that nothing had happened just in time to push them out of the way, her shoulder being grazed by the energy ball. "What just happened?" she whispered.

"Just a little spell to prevent anyone from orbing in or out of the manor," Anderson said with a malicious smile. "It just went up a few minutes ago, right after your Whitelighter came down here and got himself into a wee bit more trouble than he could handle. Now, I'm offering you a choice: either you can die or both of you can."

"Is that supposed to be a choice?" Susan grumbled, praying that her brothers would get the message and blast their way through the door.

"Actually . . . yes," Anderson answered. "Either you can die knowing you could have saved your boyfriend or you can die knowing that you _did_ save him. That way you can die being a martyr."

"I hate to break this to you," Susan told him, "but you're the only one who is going to be dying today. Neither of my brothers, my sister-in-laws, my boyfriend, or even myself are going to be dying today. You're going to be joining my father."

"Pretty words for a witch who is at my mercy."

"You don't even know the _meaning_ of the word mercy," Susan growled just as she heard the door slam open.

"Susan?!" Lucas shouted. She could hear the screams of the demons as they were vanquished. "Susan, where are you?!" Her brother sounded panicked and scared, she noticed.

"Basement!" she shouted before looking back at Anderson. "And this one is for my future son," she growled at him.

_"I am light._

_I am one too strong to fight._

_Return to dark, where shadows dwell._

_You cannot have this Halliwell._

_Go away and leave—"_

(AN: Spell taken from Charmed, Episodes "Is There a Woogy In the House?", "The Importance of Being Phoebe", and "Scry Hard")

Before Susan could finish the spell, Anderson launched another attack and shimmered out before she could finish it. Scrambling to her feet, Susan looked down at Shawn.

"I'll be back," she promised as she raced up the stairs, where the rest of the family was in the mess of a demon attack. Susan's eyes widened as she saw Anderson shimmer in, taking the scene around him with amusement in his eyes.

"Well, this is better than I expected," he said cruelly, conjuring an energy ball. "Three, for the price of one. This must be my lucky day."

It was only then that Susan realised that the energy ball wasn't aimed at her, or at Lucas or even Nathan.

"BROOKE, LOOK OUT!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. The mother of her niece and nephew whirled around to look at her and saw Anderson as he launched the attack.

If Susan didn't know any better, she would've sworn that she had accidentally froze Brooke, because the telepath seemed to have frozen in place as the energy ball came closer and closer.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Susan attempted to freeze the energy ball, but a demon knocked her to the ground before she could flick her wrists at the demonic attack. As she tried to push the demon off of her, she watched in horror as the energy ball grew closer and closer to the telepath.

And then Brooke was flung sideways out of harm's way. Susan almost let out of sigh of relief when the energy ball connected with something. She caught sight of a flash of blonde, curly hair as a person was flung backwards, crashing into the Cairo cabinet, sending glass everywhere as the person collapsed onto the ground.

Susan actually felt her heart stop for a minute as she stared in horror at the scene. Then, automatically, she reacted by pushing the demon off of her, throwing a potion bottle at him, vanquishing him, before freezing the room.

The moment time seemed to return to its normal rhythm, Brooke had screamed Peyton's name, racing towards the fallen mortal. Lucas, alerted by his fiancée's cry, had frozen on the spot, his light blue eyes wide. Nathan, upon seeing the still body, went wild and vanquished every demon that he could see in his sight, until they were all gone. Anderson had shimmered out the moment that the energy ball had hit Peyton.

Haley immediately raced towards Peyton and Brooke, holding her hands over Peyton's still body as the golden glow appeared. Susan appeared beside the other women, looking worriedly down at Peyton while the golden glow was still held steadily over her.

"What's wrong, Haley?" she demanded after several long moments. "What's taking so long?"

"Haley?" Brooke said brokenly when finally the Whitelighter pulled her hands away, looking up at the others as Nathan and Lucas joined them. Haley's brown eyes were filled with tears as Susan realised what was happening, but shook her head, trying to deny this fact. Lucas took a step back and Nathan was shaking.

"I can't heal the dead," she whispered.

"NO!" Brooke screamed, grabbing Peyton's body. "Oh, god, no, please! Don't let it be true, please! Somebody please help!" she screamed, looking wildly Up There. "Please, bring her back!"

Lucas dropped to his knees and pulled Brooke against him. She collapsed into his arms, sobbing into her chest. The eldest Charmed One had tears pouring down his cheeks as he held his fiancée.

Nathan slowly knelt down beside Peyton's body and a devastated Haley, who was looking ashamed for being unable to heal their innocent. Rage and horror filled through him as he gripped Haley, looking up at Susan.

The second-born Charmed One stared down at Peyton, grief written in her every feature, frozen in stature. Images were flitting in and out of her mind as she stared at the corpse.

Her mother's terrified face as the sound of screeching tires emerged, slamming into their car. Her uncle's shocked face as his brother fired a gun onto him, his body dropping helplessly onto the ground. Her son's grieved face as he retold of how his brother had been murdered.

And now, she had lost her first innocent. She closed her eyes, breaking out of her trance, and looked up towards the heavens.

For the first time since she had started this whole thing, since she had become a witch, Susan Dawson-Scott wondered if they had made the right decision.


	51. Abandoning Destiny?

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Fifty-one: Abandoning Destiny?

Lucas held Brooke against him, trying very hard not to look at Peyton's still form. His numb mind was unable to accept the scene that was sitting straight in front of him, unable to accept the facts that he saw with his own eyes. Peyton was dead. _Peyton was dead_.

_This can't be happening, _he thought, not noticing that tears were falling down his face. _We can't be losing an Innocent and one of our friends. This has to be a dream; it's just _got_ to be. Please, let this not be real. Let this be a dream, a nightmare. Don't let this be real. _

He looked up as Susan turned away, leaning against the doorframe, her tiny frame curling into herself as she sank onto the ground, drawing her knees up and hugging them tightly, pressing her forehead against them. When she raised her head once, he saw her anguished and tortured face. The moment that he saw his sister's face, he knew that this was real. There was no denying that pain and agonised look.

As he stared at her, Lucas could see a million emotions portraying in her eyes as he looked at his younger sister. Anguish, fear, and horror he could see in them plain as day. But there was also doubt, self-punishment, and guilt as she leaned her head back against the doorframe. Anger and rage spilled out, as well as trauma, dread, and terror.

Brooke was clinging to him like a child, every sob racking her body and she was trembling underneath his touch. But before he could say just a moment of comfort, if he could even come up with anything to say, a low chuckle emerged from the side of the room, startling all five of the surviving humans.

"Well, not exactly the one that I was aiming for, but it will do just the same," he commented. "And now for the rest of you . . ." He conjured an energy ball into his hands.

Susan scrambled to her feet, blue-green eyes blazing with rage. "I told you," she said angrily, "nobody is going to be dying today."

"Little late for that, isn't it?" Anderson inquired, still looking all so calm at the situation in front of him. His eyes fixed on Peyton. "It's all . . . so interesting, how this turned out. Why, I couldn't have done this better if I had planned it this way."

"Arrogant, two-faced—" Susan hissed. She was breathing very heavily. "Your days are _over_."

"_We call upon the Power of Three." _

Lucas's voice broke Susan out of her fury and she turned to look at her elder brother.

"_We call upon the Power of Three,_

_to spread throughout this home. _

_From place to place, _

_we travel to be,_

_in the area we roam._

_Let this power return to our home. _

_Orbing power return, let it be known." _

Looking down at Brooke, he kissed her forehead and whispered, "I'll be back." She started to protest as he scrambled to his feet, racing towards Susan, grabbing her hand as Nathan seized the other one. "Orb us to the basement, NOW!" Lucas ordered.

Susan hesitated, but closed her eyes and white lights appeared before them before they disappeared, reappearing inside the basement. "Now what?" she demanded as Anderson shimmered in.

"This day is over for you," Nathan growled. "This is for all the people that you've taken from us—"

"And have _tried_ to take," Susan added, picking up on her brothers' plan. "And for all future Innocents whose lives you have threatened."

_"I am light," _Lucas chanted the first part of the spell.

_"I am one too strong to fight," _Susan continued.

_"Return to dark,"_ Nathan added, "_where shadows dwell." _

_"You cannot have this Halliwell!" _Lucas said forcibly. Lights appeared from the ceiling of basement, encircling Anderson. He looked around in horror.

_"Go away and leave my sight,"_ Susan shouted.

_"And take with you," _Nathan finished the spell, "_this endless night." _A shadow was forced from Anderson's body as he dropped onto the ground, agony crossing through him in a series of fits and spasms.

The shadow finally broke free of his captor and dropped back down into the hole where it had been released, sealed up again . . . for the time being.

Anderson was breathing heavily as he got to his feet, glaring at the siblings in fury. "Well . . ." he said slowly. "I have to admit, I have underestimated you. It seems that the prophecy was right after all. The most powerful witches every to be born in the history of the magical world. And this is only the beginning. Your legacy will continue into the next generation. But it isn't over yet. Even if you live, never to be taken down by any demon, they will still come after you. They will come after your children and your children's children. It will never be over! This isn't over yet, witches!"

Susan reached in her back pocket and threw the green potion at the demon. The moment that it hit, he exploded in a series of fire and blasts before it finally vanished. And when they disappeared, Anderson too was gone, the only thing left a scorch mark where he had been standing.

"It is for you," she said quietly. One of the worst demons they had ever gone up against, one that had threatened their family both present and future, was finally gone.

But were they any safer than they had been before?

--

_Two funerals in less than a year,_ Nathan thought gloomily, _is too much for one family. _He sat with Haley and the rest of the family behind Peyton's family as the priest spoke of Peyton and her great attributes. A great and compassionate friend; loved by many; true to the end. Cherished daughter and beloved child.

Larry Sawyer was sitting in the front row, his shoulders sagging as he stared at the casket that held his beloved daughter, his only child. Nathan had never really known the man, having always been at sea while he and Peyton were dating, but even a perfect stranger could feel the sorrow that the man was emitting. It was clear all the way across the room.

Susan was sitting between Nathan and Shawn, staring at the casket with a gloomy look on her face. Slowly, she got up and walked out the hall, her face paler than it usually was. Shawn was about to get up and follow her, but Nathan stopped him, going after Susan. She needed her brother more than she needed her boyfriend right now.

Closing the door behind him so that it didn't interrupt the service, Nathan walked out after Susan, seeing her standing over the balcony, her hands gripping the railing so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

Walking up to her, Nathan wrapped a comforting arm around his sister's shoulders, trying to comfort her. But what she said surprised him so much that he pulled away.

"I never should have left home."

Nathan started, his arm dropping away as he looked at his sister in shock. Her blue-green eyes were reflecting the cloudy day. Why is it that it was always raining whenever there was a funeral? he wondered vaguely.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded, seriously not understanding what she was going on about.

"After Mom died. I never should have left home. Things would be better if I had just stayed away from Tree Hill." She shook her head wildly, dark hair swinging into her face. "If I had just stayed where I was, then none of this would have happened. If I had just had the common sense to stay put, then Peyton and Keith would still be here!" Her voice echoed brokenly.

"You don't know that," Nathan protested, shaking his head. "Sue, you are meant to be here, just like Luke and I are. Okay, Tree Hill is your home. It's where you were meant to find us, where we were meant to unravel our destiny, our heritage."

"Have you ever once considered that we may not be doing the right thing?" Susan asked softly. Nathan stared at her. "Nathan, if we hadn't gotten involved in this . . . if we hadn't become witches, Anderson never would have come after us. Dan never would have come after us."

"But I think he would have come after Keith," Nathan told her. "There was a lot more going on than just our Charmed destiny, Sue. Trust me, it wasn't just about that when Dan pulled the trigger on him. I'm pretty sure that he would've done the same thing, whether we had become witches or not."

Susan sighed. "I wish that I was as sure as you, little brother," she said quietly, her voice choked.

Nathan shook his head. "My mom tried to kill Dan once," he said quietly. Susan's head snapped towards him. "If Lucas hadn't pulled Dan out of the fire, then he probably would have died there. And I'm pretty sure that Dan didn't think that Mom did it. In fact, I'm pretty sure that he thought that it was Keith."

"That sucks," Susan said. "For Keith, I mean. It's not really fair to Keith's memory. But at least Dan didn't come after Deb." She paused. "Nathan, what was the point of telling me this?"

"Because . . . what do you think is going to happen to all the future Innocents that we're meant to protect, if we just quit now? Even if we do bind our powers, our kids are going to be witches, Sue. Wyatt is going to be twice-blessed: part witch and part Whitelighter."

"From what Chris and Keith were hinting at, he's probably going to be a lot more than just that," Susan muttered, remembering what Shawn had told her. When Nathan looked at her questioningly, she shook her head. "Forget about it."

"All right. But my point is that no matter what happens, we are always going to be exposed to magic. Wyatt and Melinda are going to witches. Keith, Peyton, Penelope, and Laura are all going to be witches. Chris and Ben are going to be witches. How do you propose that we protect them if we don't have powers to protect them with?"

Susan sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know," she whispered as she ran a hand through her dark hair. She looked towards the funeral hall, her blue-green eyes filling with tears as she turned her head away from it again. "But how many more, Nathan? How many more people are we going to lose that are close to us? Because they are going to keep coming after us, no matter the cost. You know that they'll want to stop the Charmed Ones. And Anderson isn't going to be our biggest battle, nor is Peyton going to be the last sacrifice we make. We both _know_ that."

"Yeah, I do," Nathan said quietly. "But I also know that if we hadn't become witches, then we would not as close as we are today. In many ways, it's defined as siblings. And you brought Lucas and me together as brothers. If you hadn't come along, then we would still be farther apart than most brothers are. So don't ever doubt that you made the wrong decision in coming here. Witches or humans, you did make the right choice when you came to Tree Hill." He sighed. "Now about this quitting idea. If you guys want to bind our powers until we're old enough so that we can _really_ handle it, then I'll do it. But only if all three of us agree."

"You would seriously do that?" Susan asked, looking at him sceptically. A small, wry small was tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Give up that premonition power?"

"Hey, you're the one who _loves_ being a witch and you're talking about quitting," Nathan pointed out. "Besides, you know that Lucas and I would do anything for you. Just like we know that you would do anything for either one of us. We're family."

--

AN: Okay, there's only one more chapter left after this, so after I get a couple reviews, I'll post it. But don't worry, guys, there is going to be a sequel. It's going to pick up right after the twins' birth and right before Wyatt's. So if you guys have any ideas for some titles, then could you please tell me in a review? I'm open to ideas.

Thanks!

Lady Dawson


	52. Witches Forever

**The Unknown Destiny**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Fifty-two: Witches Forever

Lucas slowly climbed up the stairs hollowly, barely even paying attention to where he was going as he passed the people that were talking quietly at Peyton's wake, held at the Sawyer house. He could hear their whisperings, though.

"So young . . . such a tragedy."

"How could someone just kill such a young girl like that? And she was only trying to protect her friend."

"And her friend's children. The Davis girl is pregnant."

People knew the story of what happened in the manor. That Anderson had attacked them and had attempted to kill all of the Scotts was the basic story line. They also knew that Peyton had pushed Brooke out of the way and had died saving her best friend. But that was pretty much all that had leaked out. The police were now trying to track down Anderson, a feat to which Susan had said afterwards, "Good luck."

Walking into Peyton's room, Lucas closed the door behind him, dropping down onto the bed and clasping his hands together, pressing his jaw against them. Brooke was downstairs with Larry, eating something after Lucas had forced her to. Satisfied that she was in good hands, he had gone upstairs, but he had no idea why he had come up here in the first place. He just felt like he needed to be alone.

He could barely stand to think about Peyton, even for the merest second. She had been the first love of his life and people don't often forget their first love. Although he would never admit aloud, not to anyone, he still loved Peyton, but after he had fallen in love with Brooke, it had become a different kind of love, much like the one that he felt for Susan. He had loved her like a sister, had felt a brotherly connection to her.

As he fell back against the bed, Lucas felt his hand hit something hard and leathery. Sitting up again, he looked towards the item in question and saw the leather jacket that he had so often seen Peyton wear ever since her birth mother had died. He caught sight of something in the pocket and pulled out a picture of a young woman with a baby in her arms. She looked familiar . . .

"Ellie gave me that jacket."

Lucas almost had a heart attack when he heard the voice that spoke up. "Peyton?" he breathed, incredulous, as he turned around to face the blonde girl that stood behind her.

She smiled at him and shrugged. "I figured that I owed you the chance to say goodbye," she told him. "Lucas, this wasn't your fault, okay? And it wasn't Nathan's or Susan's or anybody else in your family. If you want blame somebody for this, blame Anderson. He's the one who killed me and not anybody else." Peyton smiled at him. "Don't lose sight of what you're meant to do because of this, Luke."

"I'm not so sure that it's worth it anymore," Lucas said brokenly. "All it seems to be doing is getting the people that we care about killed."

"Lucas, you don't mean that," Peyton told him. "I know that you don't. This was your destiny; it's meant to be."

Shaking his head, Lucas sank back down on the bed, not looking at the artist. Finally, he raised his head to look at her. "Aren't ghosts supposed to glow, Peyton?" he asked, frowning at her. "Because you're not exactly glowing at the moment."

Letting out a laugh, Peyton nodded, grinning. "Yeah, ghosts are supposed to glow, Luke," she told him. "But, uh . . . I'm not exactly a ghost. All right, I'm not a ghost," she corrected herself when Lucas stared at her, confused.

Suddenly, realisation dawned on Lucas when he stared at her. Getting to his feet again, he asked, "Are . . . are you . . . a Whitelighter?"

Peyton, still smiling at him in that serenely way that was a little reminiscent of the one he remembered, only nodded. "Yeah, the Elders thought that after I died trying to protect you guys, and after all the . . . _apparent_ good that I've done in my life, it was enough to earn me the wings of a guardian angel," she explained.

"So, then . . . we will still see you sometimes," Lucas asked her. "You can still come and see us, can't you?"

She shook her head. "No, Luke," she said quietly, "I can't. I'm pressing my luck even being here right now. I'm dead, Lucas, and you need to move on with your life, without me. Go forward and be a great husband to Brooke, and wonderful father to your daughter and son, and an amazing brother, witch, and a Charmed One. Live your life, don't hold back on account of me. Because you and your brother and sister still have many more trials to overcome."

"I don't understand why, though," Lucas said bitterly. "Why is it us that were chosen for this . . . great destiny? Why are _we_ the Charmed Ones? What makes us so special?"

Peyton looked at him. "Because all three of you have hearts that propel you to helping people," she answered quietly. "And because you three have courage where others do not. And because you would risk everything just to keep the world safe." Lucas looked away. "Trust me, Luke, when you leave this planet, you're going to leave it a better place."

Lucas managed a weak smile. "So did you," he said softly. Peyton smiled. "Thank you, Peyton."

She nodded, then inclined her head towards the jacket. "Take care of that for me, will you? Maybe one day, my namesake will wear it." Reaching up, she hugged him tightly. "Take care of yourself, Lucas Scott."

He nodded. "I will," he whispered. "You take care of yourself, Peyton Sawyer. And watch out for Darklighters," he added dryly.

Peyton laughed and in a series of white lights, orbed out, disappearing Up There. Lucas stared at the spot where he'd been before sitting back down on the bed, contemplating everything that had just happened.

--

Susan followed Nathan up to the attic. It had been hours since they had gotten home from the wake and Lucas still hadn't come down. Brooke had gone to their room, wanting to get some sleep, but really everyone knew that she was going to have another long cry. The second-born Charmed One could hear the soft sobs as she walked past her room.

"Lucas?" Nathan asked as they entered the attic. The blond witch looked around at them as they entered, lying on the couch as he stared up at them. "Hey, Luke, how you holding up?"

"About as well as can be expected," Lucas answered softly. Nathan sat down on the table in front of him and Susan climbed on the couch next to Lucas, wrapping her arms around her brother. He leaned into her embrace gratefully, looking at the two of them. As always, the eldest Charmed One seemed to know that they wanted to tell him something.

Susan looked at Nathan, who looked back at her. Both of them wanted the other to be the one to tell their brother. Finally, Susan sighed and pulled herself into a sitting position. Lucas complied, looking expectantly between his brother and sister.

"Listen, Luke, Nathan and I have been doing some talking," she said slowly. "About everything that's happened since we became witches."

"Actually, Susan was the one doing the talking," Nathan interjected. "I was the one who was trying to talk some sense into her when she said that things would be better off if she hadn't come here."

"What?" Lucas turned to look at their sister, who made a face at their younger brother. "Susan thought _what_?"

"He already shoved that thought out of my head, Luke," Susan told him. "That part's over. But Nathan and I were thinking that . . . maybe this destiny thing was passed onto us too soon. I mean, jeez, we're only seventeen. Well, you'll be eighteen next month, but that's beside the point," she added when Lucas opened his mouth. "The thing is that, I'm not so sure that we're ready to handle all of this. It's like you said when we first started this: we're all going to be going off to college soon and then what? The Power of Three is always safer when it's under one roof. And we'll spread across the country, for all we know, living apart and growing towards our own separate fates. That's not the way the Charmed Ones are supposed to work."

"So I think that Susan is kind of right," Nathan said softly. "I think that we need time to slow this demon stuff down. Maybe if we bind our powers for a few years, until we are _really_ ready to handle it, then maybe . . . maybe we'll be able to do this witch stuff better. Or maybe even permanently," he added more quietly. "As far as I'm concerned, we should choose our destiny, not it chooses us. If we want to continue this, it should be on our own terms, not on anybody else's."

Lucas looked at his brother and sister. "You would do that?" he asked them, looking in particular at Susan. "Give up this powers to lead normal lives after everything that we've been through?"

Susan hugged her knees. "I don't think that even Melinda Warren thought that we would lead our destinies so young," she said quietly. "If we waited a few years . . . maybe things will turn out differently. Maybe we wouldn't lose people we love."

There was a long pause at that statement and Lucas got up, walking to the window and staring out.

"One thing, Luke," Nathan said quietly and Lucas turned towards him. "I think it should be a unanimous decision. We don't do either one unless we all agree on it. It's only fair."

Lucas nodded slowly, closing his eyes slightly. "That's pretty fair," he said softly, "and I love you guys for offering this, but . . . I don't think that any of us want to give up our destiny. It's become who we are. In many ways, being a witch defines us. We are the Charmed Ones and nothing is going to change that, even binding our powers. Besides," he added, "Peyton wouldn't want us to lose sight of what we're meant to do." He was smiling as he said this.

Susan looked at her brother sharply, frowning at the certainty in his voice as he said that. "Are you sure about this, Luke?" she asked him, crossing over to him and folding her arms across her chest as she looked up at him. "Are you really sure?"

"Only if you two are," Lucas told her, looking over at Nathan. "Like you said, Nate, it should be unanimous."

Susan looked over at Nathan and gave the first true smile since Peyton had died. Nathan grinned and got up, walking over to the two of them.

Reaching out, Susan placed her hand in the middle of the circle, her blue-green eyes sparkling as she looked at her brothers. "Witches forever?" she asked them.

Lucas couldn't help laughing as he placed his hand on top of hers. "Witches forever," he agreed, looking at Nathan.

The youngest Charmed One didn't hesitate. Placing his hand on top of Lucas and Susan's, he agreed, "Witches forever."

_Fin_

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Author's Note: WOW! Finally finished this story. Don't worry, people, the sequel's going to up as soon as I can. Finals are coming up and I've got to study. But like I said in the last chapter, if you have an idea for a title, please, _please_, tell me in a review or send me an e-mail.

Thanks!

Lady Dawson


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